Haven't Met You Yet
by recycledxphrases
Summary: Ruby sets Emma up with a dating app and creates a profile for her. Emma, who is impartial to finding true love, plays along for her best friend until she finds herself more and more intrigued by the woman she's been talking to; Regina Mills. SwanQueen (terrible summary). G!P
1. Swipe Right

**This was just a thought I had. I haven't written a fanfic before so I figured I'd give it a shot.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or its characters.**

 **This is going to be a G!P story, so if you don't like it, don't read it.**

* * *

 _Chapter 1 - Swipe Right_

"Emma, can I see your phone?" Ruby smirks, nudging her best friend and roommate in the arm. Emma, way too focused on editing the photo in front of her, just shrugs, handing the brunette her phone, causing Ruby to squeal with joy as she runs off towards the kitchen. "I got it!"

"Nice!" Ariel exclaims, high fiving Ruby as she sits down at the table. "But what exactly is your plan again?"

"Emma needs to get out there and start dating again. We're going to help!" Ruby smiles as she unlocks Emma's phone. Immediately, she goes to the App Store and downloads Tinder.

Ariel presses her lips together as she watches Ruby over her shoulder. "You do know that Tinder is like the 'hook up' app, right? Most people don't find love on that, just sex."

Ruby rolls her eyes as she sets up a profile for Emma. "There's still a chance!"

"Emma's never going to use this. You're going to set her up with a bunch of people but she'll never follow through and you know that." Ariel deadpans. Ruby just shakes her head. She's not willing to believe that her best friend was destined to be alone forever.

When Ruby and Emma met, Emma had just gotten out of a long term relationship that ended... well, let's just say sour was a good way to put it. Emma was heartbroken and Ruby was able to pull her out of a deep depression, but not in the way she knew Emma needed. Emma still drowned herself in her work, drank heavily, and binge watched TV shows whose romantic aspects would always leave her feeling worse than before. But she couldn't stop. For some odd reason, she felt comfort in her pain. In a sense, she had become a love worn masochist.

And Ruby, quite frankly, was sick of it. Emma needed a second chance at love and Ruby was going to help her find it.

"Done." Ruby smiles proudly as she updates the Tinder profile. She hands the phone over to Ariel and the redhead takes it, looking at it.

 _Emma, 25  
_ _Professional Photographer.  
_ _Sarcasm is my first language. Puns is my second..._

"I'm pretty awesome so you should hit me up?" Ariel reads aloud. "Ruby, is that the best you got?"

"WELL, IT'S NOT MY FAULT SHE'S KIND OF BORING!" Ruby exclaims loudly. "I love her, but god damn."

Ariel rolls her eyes and taps the edit button, updating Emma's profile.

 _Emma, 25  
_ _They say a picture is worth a thousands words. I do my best to capture that.  
_ _Let's grab a drink and enjoy the scenery._

"Fixed it." Ariel smiles as she hands the phone back to Ruby.

Ruby grabs it and reads over it, smiling as well. "This is perfect. Now let's look for potential candidates!"

* * *

Regina groans loudly as Kathryn plays around with her phone. She knows exactly what her best friend is up to, and to be honest, she really wanted zero part in it. She didn't need to be set up. She was new to town, for Christ's sake, not a hermit. Just because she moved to Los Angeles to get away from... her... doesn't mean she needs someone new.

The wounds were still fresh and Regina was not in the right mind to date. But Kathryn has other plans.

"Hey! I matched you with someone!" Kathryn smiles as she waves Regina's phone in her face.

Unamused, Regina rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. "I don't care, Kat."

"Well, you should!" Kathryn whines. "It's been six months. Move on, woman!"

"I am moving on!" Regina retorts, huffing out an angry breath. She eyes the wine bottle sitting on the coffee table and thinks that she better start drinking now if Kathryn's going to keep up this behavior. She refills her flute and sinks into the couch, Kathryn staring at her with a puppy dog face. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"Just take a look! She's beautiful." Kathryn presses as she nudges the phone towards the brooding brunette. "Regina, just humor me."

"Fine!" Regina gives in, a happy squeal escaping Kathryn's mouth as she scoots closer and starts scrolling through the woman's photos. Regina had to admit, she was attractive. Blondes were definitely her thing. A weird blip sounded from her phone's speaker and Kathryn's eyes go wide.

"She sent you a message!"

* * *

Emma hears an unfamiliar notification sound echoing from her phone around her bedroom. She groans, rolling over and throwing her pillow over head before her phone vibrates again.

"Ugh!" She breathes out as she throws her pillow to the other side of her bed, grabbing her phone and spotting a notification for an app she knew she didn't download. "What the fuck, Ruby?"

She already knew what her roommate was up to the second that stupid little flame icon showed up on her home screen telling her that someone had sent her a message. She rolls her eyes and unlocks her phone, opening that dumb dating app that Ruby set up for her. She clicks on the message and opens it, looking at the reply.

 **Emma:** Hey there! You're pretty dang cute

 _ **Regina:**_ _thanks._

 _ **Regina:**_ _you're not so bad yourself ;)_

"Ruby Lucas!" Emma screams as she storms out of bed, barging into her roommate's bedroom. She waves her phone in the brunettes face. "What the fuck is this? Who even says things like this? WHY did you download a dating app on my phone?"

"Maybe one question at a time, Swan." Ruby yawns, rubbing her eyes. "You need to get out. You're too consumed by work. You're drinking too much and you've become boring. We all love you and we thought setting you up would work."

"I don't want to go out, I don't want to focus on a relationship! And you made me sound like a complete fucking weirdo. No woman would actually be into that!" Emma whines.

Ruby yanks the phone out of Emma's hands and stares at the message thread. "What? That's a positive response. She sent a winking face!"

Emma groans as she snatches the phone from Ruby and re-reads the message. Okay, so it wasn't terrible. But Ruby could have opened with something better, or you know, just stayed out of her non-existent love life. And besides the fact that Emma was strongly against meeting people on the internet, she could barely even tell what this girl that Ruby messaged even looked like.

"How the fuck do you work this app?" Emma furrows her brow as she tries to make the image bigger by tapping on the icon, but nothing's working. Ruby just rolls her eyes and clicks the button in the corner and choosing the 'view profile' option. "Oh."

Emma silently thanks Ruby as she exits the room, a little less mad at her best friend when she realizes how 'dang cute' the brunette in the photos was. She had almost black hair, olive skin, chocolate brown eyes, and a scar above her lip. And Emma had to admit, she was attractive. But she still didn't need to be set up, so she decides to do the right thing: reply.

 **E:** Uh, thanks! I'm not too sure what to say from here. This wasn't my intention at all.

 _ **R:**_ _oh...? I'm sorry, I don't follow. Are you like... taking back what you said?_

 **E:** what? No! Okay, so it's not like that...  
 **E:** my best friend stole my phone and made this profile. I had no clue.  
 **E:** but uh, for what it's worth, you're like attractive. I wasn't taking that back.

 _ **R:**_ _I'm flattered.  
_ _ **R:**_ _and what do you know? My best friend set this up for me and replied to your response... so guess we're even?  
_ _ **R:**_ _but I will stand by her comment, you're not too bad yourself._

 **E:** I'm not good at this type of thing.

 _ **R:**_ _I can tell. Neither am I. I'm not much for 'meeting people on the internet'._

 **E:** Welcome to 2016. Ha

 _ **R:**_ _yes, I suppose so._

 **E:** Well, uhm... sorry for like wasting your time.

 _ **R:**_ _You kept me slightly entertained for ten minutes. Time well spent, I'd say._

Emma feels a weird sensation at the last message. It was like she was a middle school kid who had a crush and that crush acknowledged her. Except she had no idea who this Regina woman was, but surprisingly, she was actually intrigued. Using the trick she learned from Ruby, Emma revisits her profile to see if she can learn anything about the brunette, though she's sure that it wouldn't say anything relatively relating to her seeing as she said her best friend made the profile.

 _Regina, 26  
_ _New to Los Angeles.  
_ _Looking for the Romeo to my Juliet. Except the girl version or something._

Emma has to chuckle because based off of the short conversation she's had with this Regina woman, she did not at all seem like she was into that gooey romantic cliché. Definitely the best friend's doing.

 **E:** so, the Romeo to your Juliet, huh?

 _ **R:**_ _OH GOD! Is that what my profile says? No. I'm not one for cliches. Besides, no good date ends with barely knowing each other before getting married and committing mutual suicide._

 **E:** true. You have a point. So what does a good date end with, then...?

 _ **R:**_ _wouldn't you like to know?_

Emma bites her lower lip as she re-reads the message over and over again.

She really would like to know. And that's what she was scared of.


	2. I Just Haven't Met You Yet

**So, I've read some reviews stating that they wouldn't read this if a certain someone has the G!P, which to each their own, I suppose. You'll find out who it is this chapter, and if you decide not to continue, then best of luck to you.**

 **I personally don't understand it, but it's not my choice whether or not you read my story!**

I don't own OUAT or Michael Buble's song "Haven't Met You Yet".

* * *

 _Chapter 2 - I Just Haven't Met You, Yet_

 _ **I'm not surprised,  
**_ _ **Not everything lasts.  
**_ _ **I've broken my heart so many times I stopped keeping track.**_

Emma's eyes narrow at her laptop screen as she drags the stylus across it, touching up the edges on a photograph she had taken of her parents. She smiles as she examines every detail of it; the way her father smiles at her mother, and the look in her mother's eyes as they radiate love in his direction. They were the perfect definition of true love, and Emma wished she could have found a love like theirs.

 _ **Talk myself in, I talk myself out.  
**_ _ **I get all worked up and then let myself down.**_

But that wasn't in the cards for Emma, and she's not too sure where she went wrong. Okay, so maybe she put way too much trust in Lilith. It's not like she knew at the time that she'd placed her trust in someone who would misplace it altogether. Lily seemed sincere at the time, but Emma knew better than that now. Sincerity was a lost art, these days.

 _ **I tried so very hard not to lose it,  
**_ _ **I came up with a million excuses.  
**_ _ **I thought I thought of every possibility.**_

 _ **And I know someday that it'll all turn out.  
**_ _ **You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out.  
**_ _ **And I promise you, kid, I give so much more than I get.  
**_ _ **I just haven't met you, yet.**_

Emma rolls her eyes as she changes the song flooding through her speakers. She really, really hated cliché love songs and her Pandora station to be playing just that for the last hour. She sighs loudly as another love song starts playing and opts for closing Pandora completely. Her attention focuses back on the photograph and she presses her lips in a small smile. It was perfect. Deciding she was done editing the photo, she saves the file and closes her laptop, leaning back in her chair.

Her cell phone captures her attention, and she bites her lower lip while contemplating whether or not she should give in to Ruby's attempts at 'finding Emma love'. Not that she thought that finding love on a hook-up app like Tinder was possible, but Ruby had gone through the effort and she had found someone who had seemed like a decent match for Emma. If their brief conversation was anything to go by.

Emma caves and grabs her phone, opening up the app and immediately finding the messages between her and this Regina person. She smiles as she reads the last few exchanges between them.

 **E:** so, the Romeo to your Juliet, huh?

 _ **R:**_ _OH GOD! Is that what my profile says? No. I'm not one for cliches. Besides, no good date ends with barely knowing each other before getting married and committing mutual suicide._

 **E:** true. You have a point. So what does a good date end with, then...?

 _ **R:**_ _wouldn't you like to know?_

Emma chews on her lower lip while she tries to figure out a good reply. Dating was a whole new ballpark for Emma. Lily was Emma's first and only real relationship and Emma knew she was lacking in the 'how to talk to girls' department. Not that she really wanted to talk to any girls. Emma knew in the end it would just end up like it did with Lily, so she doesn't know why she's even entertaining the idea. Even if she and Regina hit it off, Emma still had her reserves for good reasoning. But somehow, that's pushed to the back of her mind as she types out a response.

 **E:** Are you offering to show me what a good date ends with? I figured we could get to know each other first. Got to make sure you're not a serial killer or anything. ;) I'm Emma, by the way, if that wasn't obvious.

* * *

Regina groans loudly as a loud knock echoes from the other side of her office door. She just settling in and getting used to her newest real estate job. Not that she particularly enjoyed real estate, but when you come from a small town in Maine, there weren't a whole lot of jobs to choose from. She was only thankful she could find a job to support her move to Los Angeles.

"Come in!" She calls out and the door opens, revealing Kathryn. She immediately rolls her eyes, knowing her best friend was already up to something just by the look on her face. "Yes, Kat?"

"You left your phone at the house." Kat smirks, handing the device to Regina. "And it looks like that girl I matched you with on Tinder messaged you."

Regina sets her phone on her desk, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. She raises an eyebrow at Kathryn. "You know, she knows you were trying to set us up. Her best friend did the exact same thing. It's honestly probably a joke at either one of your expenses."

"That's not cool!" Kathryn whines. "You were supposed to just go with it, meet the girl, fall in love, and get married!"

"And you thought Tinder, the hook up app, was the app to find me true love on?" Regina chuckles and Kathryn just nods dumbfoundedly. "I'll have to admit, Kat, she kept me entertained for all but ten minutes. And then made fun of my profile that you wrote."

"What!? You're kind of hard to peg. Forgive me for not knowing what to write about you!"

"Hard to peg?" Regina furrows her brow. She usually only hears that term when someone's trying to determine her sexual orientation, but never she as an overall person.

"Yeah. Well, she who will not be named was definitely not the person I'd see you going for. You were kind of a hopeless romantic at one point in your life. I don't know! I'm not entirely sure what you look for in a potential partner." Kathryn argues.

"But Romeo and Juliet was your best guess? You know I hate dumb cliches like that."

"Well, it obviously started a conversation between you two. You probably dismissed what I wrote to her and now she's replied and you need to move on!" Kathryn exclaims. "The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else."

"There are so many things wrong with that statement. I don't need a rebound." Regina states harshly.

"No, but you need to give love a chance!"

"Yeah, yeah. We'll see." Regina says sarcastically. "Now, do you mind? I have a few showings today and I'd really like to do my job."

Kathryn groans and rolls her eyes, crossing her arms and huffing out. "Fine. But you should just give yourself a chance, Gina."

Regina sighs as Kathryn turns to leave the office, her eyes flicking down to her phone on her desk. She reaches out and grabs it, tapping the notification icon and waiting for the app to load. She did wonder what the green eyed girl had said back, after her semi-poor attempt at what she calls flirting. It interested her, not that she was actually willing to let it get any further than playful banter and joking about their best friends.

 **E:** Are you offering to show me what a good date ends with? I figured we could get to know each other first. Got to make sure you're not a serial killer or anything. ;) I'm Emma, by the way, if that wasn't obvious.

Regina chuckles at Emma's response. Of course, the chances of either one of them being Catfishes and a serial killer was relatively high in this day and age.

 _ **R:**_ _I never said I was offering anything, Emma. And you may be right. My profile says my name is Regina, but I could be some creepy catfish and serial killer. Just looking to add a pretty blonde to my collection._

 **E:** Well at least you think I look good enough to add to your collection. I'd say I'd add you to mine, but you have no idea what I do.

 _ **R:**_ _I suppose I don't. Do I want to be a part of your collection?_

 **E:** depends on how you feel behind a camera lens.

 _ **R:**_ _A photographer, I take it? I'm not one for having my picture taken, I must admit._

 **E:** You'd feel differently if you saw my work.

 _ **R:**_ _Cocky, much?_

* * *

Emma's eyes widen as Regina's response comes through.

"Cocky, much?" Emma repeats the response out loud, scoffing and chuckling at the same time. She looks down at her groin and then back at her phone. "Oh, if only you knew."

* * *

 **E:** Just confident in my craft.

 _ **R:**_ _I guess that's a good thing._

 _ **R:**_ _What do you mostly take photos of?_

 **E:** Uh, everything. My most recent ones were from my parents' anniversary. They did that whole renewing of the vows thing. I do photo shoots for magazines, weddings, concerts, real estate, national parks, graduations, senior pictures. Pretty much anything and everything.

 _ **R:**_ _Real estate?_

 **E:** well yeah. Most agencies like professional photos of houses they're listing.

 _ **R:**_ _I guess I never thought of it that way. Where I'm from, we just took our own._

 **E:** so you're in real estate? Where are you from?

 _ **R:**_ _Storybrooke, Maine. It's super small and we only had one real estate agency. So I guess there wasn't much need for photographers._

 **E:** Well, you're in LA now. If your agency ever needs them, you kind of know a professional photographer.

 _ **R:**_ _I guess, I do._

 **E:** So tell me more about yourself. Why Los Angeles?

 _ **R:**_ _I... needed a change of scenery._  
 _ **R:**_ _I don't' really like talking about it._

 **E:** look, you don't have to tell me anything that you don't want. You don't even have to talk to me. I know that this whole dating app thing isn't really our style. But if you need someone to listen, I'm here I guess.

And Regina knows Emma is right. Tinder is definitely not her style, nor does it seem to be the blonde's. Regina chalks it up to both of them humoring their best friends by talking to each other, but neither looking for something more than entertainment. Although, Regina does admire Emma's sincerity of saying she doesn't have to tell her anything. Most people pressed for answers when finding out Regina moved to LA, especially her mother.

She remembers that conversation all too clearly.

* * *

 _"A change of scenery? You're going to move from a quaint town to a sinful one?" Cora scoffs in disbelief as Regina continues packing up her apartment._

 _"I got a great job opportunity, mom. And Storybrooke is small. The less I run into... her... the better." Regina shudders at the thought of her ex._

 _"You're running away from your problems, dear." Cora replies. "You should just deal with it! Love comes and goes! No need to run."_

 _"No, I'm not. I'm not running. I just need a fresh start, and I'm not going to get that here." Regina argues._

 _"You say that now, but don't be surprised when you come running back to me and I tell you that I told you so!" Cora yells._

* * *

No, she definitely wasn't going back to Maine. No way, no how. That chapter of her life had been closed, and she really needed to move on with her life. She sits at her desk, thinking hard about what Kathryn had said to her the night before. Maybe she did need to move on from her ex. Maybe talking to Emma wasn't entirely a bad idea. Maybe she wouldn't be a rebound.

Regina's pulled out of her thoughts when another message appears on her screen.

 **E:** uh... didn't want to pry to much so sorry if I did. I got to go do a photo shoot for a... you guessed it, real estate agent. (Ironic, right?) My offer still stands if you, you know, want to talk.

Regina sighs loudly, debating on if she should wait to reply to the blonde. She has no time to think, however, as her office phone rings loudly.

"Regina Mills, Once Upon A Housing Real Estate." She answers professionally.

"Hey, Regina! It's Mary-Margaret. You have a showing today in a few minutes, I know. But I was wondering if you could meet with a client afterwards?" Her boss asks.

"Of course."

* * *

Ruby exits her car as she stands in front of the house Emma's mom had sent her to photograph while Emma went with Mary-Margaret to another property. One of the best parts of working with her best friend was that her mom always had jobs lined up for them, and Ruby really appreciated the beauty in architectural structure (much more so than the brooding blonde she calls her roommate). When they started the business together, Ruby had started out as an editor, but as soon as her best friend got her behind the viewfinder of a camera, she never looked back.

This was their life and though she didn't drown herself in work like Emma does, she really loved photography.

She spots the Mercedes in front of the house and skips up to the door with her equipment happily. She pushes the unlocked door open and calls out through the giant foyer.

"Hello!? I'm here from RedSwan Photography! Mary-Margaret said I'm supposed to be shooting this house with a Miss Mills?"

"Coming!" A voice calls from what Ruby expects to be the kitchen. The sound of heels clicking against the hardwood floor echoes off of the wall as a very well dressed brunette approaches the tall photographer. Ruby's eyes widen when she looks at the woman in detail. She knows that face. She swiped right on that face when she was searching for potential suitors for Emma. She messaged this woman on Emma's behalf and she was standing right in front of her. Oh man, Emma was going to freak out when she told her. "I'm Regina, dear. And you are?"

"Ruby Lucas! Professional photographer of RedSwan Photography." Ruby replies, extending her hand for Regina to shake. Regina just smiles and shakes the taller brunette's hand before turning around to look at the house.

"RedSwan? That's an interesting name." Regina ponders. Ruby bites her lip, she doesn't know if she should tell this woman who the other half of her photography company is. She wanted so badly for Emma to meet this woman, but she didn't want to push it more than she already had. Everything had to be subtle.

"It was my best friend's idea. She always calls me 'Red' because of my highlights. And her last name is Swan." Ruby shrugs it off. "She's cool. You'll probably meet her someday. We work for Mrs. Blanchard a lot."

"Well, I'm sure you two are amazing photographers if your portfolios that Mary-Margaret has shown me is anything to go by." Regina says honestly. God damn this woman was perfect for Emma. She already appreciated Emma's work and she didn't even know it. Plus, she was attractive AND nice.

"I'm humbled, really." Ruby smiles, pulling out her phone. "So, want to show me what I'm shooting today?"

"Right this way, Miss Lucas." Regina says as she leads them down the hallway of the house, unaware of the photographer furiously typing away on her cell phone.

 _ **Rubes:**_ _OMG, SWAN. YOU WILL NEVER GUESS WHO I RAN INTO TODAY._

 **Em:** That cute, Australian (or British?) redhead you spotted at the library?

 _ **Rubes:**_ _even better. Your tinder match._

 **Em:** you ran into my tinder match? How does that even happen?

 _ **Rubes:**_ _fate, duh! And holy shit, Emma. She is PERFECT for you._

 **Em:** you say that now, but here's the catch. I haven't even met her, yet...

Ruby chuckles, hearing the skeptical tone in Emma's text. She knows the blonde's heart is guarded, especially after what had happened with Lily. But if she thought Regina Mills was perfect for Emma before meeting her, then she was certainly sure after meeting her. Regina screamed level-headed and kind, and that was exactly what Emma needed. She knew she had to find a way to get them to meet in person, and she knows just who to talk to.

 _ **Rubes:**_ _Oh, I'm sure you will very soon ;)_

Ruby replies, leaving out the bit that she knows that Regina works for Mary-Margaret, aka Emma's mother. If she was going to set her best friend up, she was going to do it right. She opens a new text thread and quickly types out a message before turning her attention back to Regina and the photos she was supposed to be taking.

 **To M &M, Ariel, David**: Operation Red Panda is a go. Time for the stubborn Swan to find true love!

* * *

 **If it wasn't apparent, Emma has the G!P in this story.**

I'm so excited for the next chapter in this story. It's almost done, so I'll be posting it in a few days. :)


	3. Operation Red Panda Pt I

**Okay, so this chapter kind of bounces around a lot. The beginning section is a text-thread between four people, so I hope it doesn't get way too confusing.**

 **When the messages are only separated by a single line-break, it means they're either sent at the same time or simultaneously.**

 **Also, I want to thank my reviewers! I love reading your reviews and while I'm not used to any of this since it's my first story, I appreciate all of your kind words. If you thought this story was funny before, this next chapter will have you cracking up. (I know I did after re-reading it).**

* * *

 _Chapter 3 - Operation Red Panda Pt. I_

 **To M &M, Ariel, David:** Operation Red Panda is a go. Time for the stubborn Swan to find true love!

 _ **Ariel:** Why is it called Operation Red Panda?_

 **Ruby:** Because red pandas are cute, and Emma needs cute.

 _ **David:** why am I even in this thread?_

 **M &M: **because you're her father, David! And she IS stubborn. I'm with her right now, trying to get her to talk about that dating profile Ariel and Ruby set up for her. She won't even tell me who she's talking to! Says it's no big deal! :(

 _ **Ariel:** I'm so confused._

 **Ruby:** okay, okay. Guys, I have some good news!

 _ **David:** ... still don't know why I'm here._

 **Ruby:** because you're her father. Support her!  
 **M &M:** because you're her father!

 _ **David:** WOW, okay! Sorry, guys._

 _ **Ariel:** David shut up or Ruby will never tell us the news._  
 _ **Ariel:** I hate group texts :|_

 **Ruby:** right! The news. So I'm doing a photo shoot right now with Miss Mills, M &M's new real estate agent. And guess what!? She's the one Emma's been talking to. This is perfect.

 **M &M:** wait, you set my daughter up with Regina? -confused emoji-

 **Ruby:** not intentionally...

 _ **David:** who's Regina?_

 **M &M:** my new real estate agent, David. Are you even paying attention?  
 _ **Ariel:** the girl Ruby set Emma up with on Tinder._

 **David:** I am, babe! You guys are texting back too fast!  
 **David:** wait, the hook up app?

 **Ruby:** shut up, David!  
 **M &M:** shut up, David!

 _ **David:** why are you ganging up on me!? I'm just trying to understand why you set her up on TINDER._

 _ **Ariel:** at least David gets it!_

 **Ruby:** oh my god, you guys. Forget that it's Tinder! This is perfect, don't you see? :D

 _ **Ariel:** ... still haven't heard a plan._

 **Ruby:** okay, so Mary-Margaret, you guys have that company dinner coming up, right?

 **M &M:** yes...?

 **Ruby:** you forgot, didn't you?

 **M &M:** no...?

 **Ruby:** your annual company dinner that's like this weekend... you sent out invitations a few days ago.

 **M &M:** OH YEAH!

 _ **David:** why are you involving me and Ariel!? You could have just had this conversation with my wife. -eye rolling emoji-_

 **Ruby:** because I need all of your guys' help. So, M&M has her dinner which Regina will be at. Naturally, Emma and I have to show because we're the company's hired photographers. I was going to invite Ariel, and David you're going with your wife. We're going to get them to meet, and it'll be like fate!

 _ **David:** but if you and Emma have to go, then wouldn't she just meet her because she'll be there, too? I mean, you'll all be in the same room._

 _ **Ariel:** no, Emma's too stubborn for that. She'll sit there and complain about how she can't approach the woman.  
_ _ **Ariel:** I contributed!_

 **M &M :** she won't even tell me who she is! So I can confirm, David. Our daughter is the most stubborn person ever.

 **Ruby:** so, she'll freak out when she sees Regina. She'll go running to David first. We need him to make that push. If she doesn't listen to him, she'll go down the list of all of us. If we all push her towards Regina, she'll have to talk to her!

 _ **Ariel:** this sounds like it's way too much effort for a tinder date._

 **Ruby:** you haven't met Regina. She is like perfect for Emma.

 **M &M:** I'm going to agree with Red on this one.

 _ **David:** I don't see why you're pushing this!_

 _ **Ariel:** Because Ruby is tired of Emma moping._

 _ **David:** My daughter doesn't mope!_

 **Ruby:** yes, she does.  
 **M &M:** yes, she does, David.  
 _ **Ariel:** yeah, she kind of does._

 _ **David:** ugh whatever. I guess it's settled then._

 _ **Ariel:** I guess so._

 **Ruby:** Operation Red Panda is a go! :)

* * *

Emma keeps constantly looking at her phone as she and her mom continue walking through the house. She mindlessly snaps a few photographs before looking back at her phone, wishing for that dumb flame icon to show up on her screen.

This behavior was totally unlike Emma, even she could admit that. She was never one for hoping to hear back from someone, nonetheless a potential future date. But there was just something about Regina that she couldn't shake, and she didn't know why she felt this way. She didn't want to date. She didn't want to meet someone new. But then, Ruby had to butt in and make her this stupid profile and she was addicted to talking to Regina.

Mary-Margaret notices this immediately.

"So... spill! Who have you been talking to that has you looking at your phone every five seconds."

"It's no one, mom. Ruby just set me up on Tinder and these notifications are endless." Emma lies, but her mom knows better.

"Your phone hasn't buzzed once since we've been out. So you're waiting for a reply. Who is it?" Mary-Margaret asks again, eyebrow raised at her daughter.

"Mom, it's no big deal." Emma groans as she lifts her camera to her eye, snapping a picture of the backyard. "Can we just drop it?"

"Fine." Mary-Margaret sighs in defeat before looking at her phone. The last message that Ruby sent had her smirking before looking at her daughter. "I'm just saying, if you think this person is worth opening up to, you should try to meet her."

"I don't need to meet anyone, mom. I'm fine, I swear." Emma lies again, and she internally thanks god that her mom doesn't have her superpower of being able to tell when people are lying. Or maybe she does know Emma's lying, but Emma's not sure nor does she want to find out. "I'm just humoring Ruby is all."

"If that's what helps you sleep at night." Mary-Margaret shrugs.

"It is."

* * *

Regina finishes up the final touches on the housing contract, smiling at herself proudly as she stares down at it. After the hectic day she has had, she was glad that she managed to sell a house. She files the paperwork and starts to pack up when there's a knock on her door, followed by the wood swinging open.

"Hey, mind if I come in for a second?" Mary-Margaret peeks her head in the room.

"Not at all. What's up?" Regina smiles at her boss.

Mary-Margaret steps into the room fully and sits down on the opposite side of the desk, folding her hands over one another. "I just wanted to see if you were coming to the company dinner this weekend? There'll be free booze and tons of catered food."

"Yeah, of course."

"And you can bring anyone you want. Boyfriend, girlfriend... hell, you can bring your parents if you want." Mary-Margaret replies.

"Well, I'm single, so how about I just bring my best friend?" Mary-Margaret lights up a the news and nods.

"Perfect! Well, I will let you get going. Have a great day."

"Thanks," Regina smiles genuinely. "You, too."

Mary-Margaret makes her exit and Regina continues packing up, eyeing her cell phone sitting on the corner of her desk. She picks it up and ponders for a moment before opening the messages she and Emma had been sending back and forth.

Her day had been so busy that she didn't get a chance to reply to the blonde and left her hanging on her last message.

 **E:** uh... didn't want to pry to much so sorry if I did. I got to go do a photo shoot for a... you guessed it, real estate agent. (Ironic, right?) My offer still stands if you, you know, want to talk.

Regina sighs as she thinks of what to reply with. She had no idea what it was about Emma, but she couldn't get her off her mind the entire day. And it's very unlike Regina to show interest in people she doesn't know. But she wants to know Emma. And Emma offered to lend an ear. Regina wanted to meet her, and she finds her nerves growing every time the thought crosses her mind.

"Shit." Regina breathes out as she lets her fingers tap out a message on her phone.

 _ **R:**_ _I appreciate it, Emma. I really do. I think I might take you up on that offer._

* * *

"Emma, where did you put my red hoodie?" Ruby asks, poking her head in Emma's bedroom.

Emma turns around in her office chair and raises an eyebrow at her best friend. "Back in your room, idiot."

"Great, thanks!" Ruby smiles, but she doesn't leave. She just lingers around in Emma's room.

"Do you need something, Red?" Emma asks over her shoulder, as she had already turned around to get back to work. She knows, however, that Ruby is still standing there because she's 100% positive she didn't hear retreating footsteps. "I know you're still standing there."

"How's Regina?"

"I don't know. Why don't you steal my phone and find out." Emma jokes as she holds her phone up and Ruby grabs it.

Ruby unlocks the phone and goes straight to her messages. She scrolls through the mass amount of messages the two had sent, surprised to see that Emma had continued talking to Regina after the first couple of days since Ruby had 'set them up'. Her eye catches some of the most recently sent messages and she smiles widely as she reads them.

 **E:** Weird question, but do you actually think people on this app meet up for anything other than sex?

 _ **R:**_ _I suppose a few do. I definitely won't be meeting anyone for sex._

 **E:** yeah, me either. It's not really my style.

 _ **R:**_ _And what is your style?_

 **E:** meeting someone, getting to know them, I guess. I don't know. I'm not good at this type of thing.

 _ **R:**_ _you've said that before. Don't worry, you're doing just fine!_

 **E:** Thanks. I mean, I don't even know what I want or what I'm looking for. I just doubt I'll find that here. You're the only person I'm talking to.

 _ **R:**_ _is that a bad thing?_

 **E:** No! I didn't mean for it to sound that way. You seem really cool and everything. I like talking to you. But we haven't met haha

 _ **R:**_ _well, we always can, you know. Maybe this weekend? I have this company party thing I have to go to and my boss said I could bring anyone. It's Saturday_

"Why haven't you replied to her? That was like two days ago!" Ruby whines.

"Because we have to go to my mom's dinner thing tonight. I didn't know what to say! I hate saying no, but we have other obligations." Emma replies, turning around in her chair to face Ruby.

"You're dumb, Swan. I got this one." Ruby smirks as she types a response out on her phone.

 **E:** sorry about the last minute response. I've been working a bunch. I would have loved to go with you, but I got a dinner party with my mom this evening. Maybe we can meet up after? Or tomorrow?

"Done." Ruby tosses Emma's phone back at her. "Also, stop working. We're leaving in like an hour. You can't go dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie."

"Aww, why not?" Emma jokes as her phone vibrates, signaling a notification. Ruby rolls her eyes and exits Emma's room, leaving the blonde to her own devices. Emma instantly rolls her eyes at Ruby's response. It's not that she didn't want to meet Regina, part of her did. But the other part of her was scared that she was slowly finding herself more and more interested by the brunette she still had yet to meet. If talking to Regina was this exciting and terrifying behind a phone screen, Emma's not sure if she wants to know how it would be face to face.

 _ **R:**_ _That's perfectly okay. It was kind of a last minute invitation. We'll see how the night goes, but I have a feeling I may be taking care of a drunk best friend._

 **E:** trust me, I know how that feels. My best friend is coming tonight, and I know she's going to be bugging me all evening.  
 **E:** But don't worry about it, it's fine, really. You should enjoy your evening. We can plan another day, or something.

* * *

"Where is she?" Ruby whispers towards Mary-Margaret, out of earshot of Emma who was standing next to them.

"She said she's running a little late. Don't worry, she'll be here." Mary-Margaret reassured as a waiter comes up and offers the girls a drink. "David knows what to do. I assume you filled Ariel in?"

"I did." Ruby smiles, watching as Emma excuses herself to go to the bar where she's spotted Killian.

A few minutes pass and Ruby spots Regina walking in with a blonde haired woman. "She's here!"

Mary-Margaret turns her attention to Regina who was greeting a few fellow employees and seemingly introducing her friend. She then turns her attention to her daughter, Emma pre-occupied at the bar with Killian as they down shots together.

"Mary-Margaret?" She hears Regina's voice on the left side of her. She turns her attention to her newest employee and smiles. "I'd like you to meet my best friend, Kathryn Nolan."

Kathryn extends her hand for Mary-Margaret to shake and the older woman grasps it firmly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Mary-Margaret Blanchard, owner of Once Upon..."

"You, too! Thanks for having me." Kathryn smiles.

"This is Ruby Lucas." Mary-Margaret introduces the photographer to Regina's friend. "She's one of the photographers we hired."

"Hey." Ruby greets before she glances over at the bar, Emma nowhere to be seen. "If you'll excuse me."

Ruby excuses herself from the group to find Emma when she hears Emma's voice echoing off of the wall in the hallway. She leans around the corner to get a better listen of what was going on.

"What do I do, dad!?" Emma asks David.

"Talk to her."

"But... I... what if I can't?" Emma stutters out and Ruby can only assume David is rolling his eyes by now. "She's so pretty. What if she finds out about me and leaves?"

"Emma, not everyone is going to be turned off by your condition. It's been eons since you've dated."

"It's been a year." Emma corrects.

"Fine, it's been a year, but Emma, you can't keep torturing yourself because of something that Lily did to you." David's comforting voice replies.

"But-"

"No 'but's, Emma. You need to give this girl a chance, and you have the perfect opportunity to." David interrupts. "You can't keep living in shadows and never take a risk. If she has seemed genuinely interested in you, then you need to go for it. Forget the fact that she's your mom's employee. Forget the fact that it's a small world after all. Just give yourself a chance to be loved again."

"And if she leaves? I hardly know her!" Emma whines.

"Then you'll bounce back. You're resilient, Emma. I've met Regina and she seems nice. So go meet her."

There's a few moments of silence and Ruby knows Emma's thinking. She silently applauds David for pushing Emma in the right direction and can only hope that Emma pulls her head out of her ass. Operation Red Panda cannot fail.

"Okay, I'll do it. I'll go meet her."


	4. Operation Red Panda Pt II

**So, I move tomorrow and won't have internet for a little bit, so I am deciding to upload this chapter early! Happy Birthday (or something)!**

 **I'm so excited that you guys love this story and have stuck with me! I will try and get internet somehow to post Chapter 5 when it's done (I want to say like a couple of days. I may sneak over to my mom's house and use her wi-fi). I would love to answer reviews, but I have work in four hours and I haven't slept, so I'm going to sleep. NEXT TIME, I PROMISE!**

* * *

 _Chapter 4 - Operation Red Panda Pt. II_

"So tell me about this girl, love." Killian says as he orders a glass of rum from the bar.

"What's there to tell? We've been talking for like a few days and she's really cool, I like talking to her. But I highly doubt we'll ever meet." Emma shrugs as she throws back a shot.

"And why do you think that?"

Emma lays her head down on the bar before lifting it back up and glancing around the room. "I don't know. Los Angeles is a HUGE place. I really don't believe I'd just run into h-"

"Emma?" Killian says waving an hand in front of Emma's face at Emma's sudden pause in the middle of her sentence. "Hello?"

"Shit." Emma mutters under her breath as her eyes fall on a brunette talking to her mom. "Shit, Killian, she's here."

Killian looks around Emma to see Mary-Margaret in an animated conversation with a brunette and a blonde. "Which one?"

"The darker haired one. Oh my god, photos don't do her justice." Emma freaks out as she turns back to face her friend, ducking her head and trying not to be seen.

"Well, isn't she a pretty lass?" Killian tilts his head as he stares at Regina. "Nice catch, Swan."

"I got to go find my dad."

Emma abruptly ends the conversation and all but runs to find David. She spots him talking to Leroy and grabs his arm, dragging him into the hallway.

"Emma, what is going on?"

"Long story short, Ruby made me a dating profile and I've been talking to this woman. And she's here!" Emma whines loudly. David just rolls his eyes at his daughter. The three of them weren't kidding when they said Emma moped, and David is finally catching on.

"So what's the problem?" David asks.

"The problem is I don't know what to do!"

"Oh. Right."

"What do I do, dad!?" Emma asks, throwing her hands in the air.

"Talk to her." David suggests, shrugging his shoulders.

"But... I... what if I can't?" Emma stutters. "She's so pretty. What if she finds out about me and leaves?"

"Emma, not everyone is going to be turned off by your condition. It's been eons since you've dated."

"It's been a year." Emma corrects.

"Fine, it's been a year, but Emma, you can't keep torturing yourself because of something that Lily did to you." David replies in a comforting voice, wrapping his arm around Emma.

"But-"

"No 'but's, Emma. You need to give this girl a chance, and you have the perfect opportunity to." David interrupts. "You can't keep living in shadows and never take a risk. If she has seemed genuinely interested in you, then you need to go for it. Forget the fact that she's your mom's employee. Forget the fact that it's a small world after all. Just give yourself a chance to be loved again."

"And if she leaves? I hardly know her!" Emma whines.

"Then you'll bounce back. You're resilient, Emma. I've met Regina and she's a really sweet, understanding person. So go meet her."

Emma sighs loudly. She knows her father is right and that is the exact reason she came to him for advice. She had been extremely guarded after Lily had cheated on her before flat out lying to her about it. When they broke up, Lily confessed that Emma's condition (which she had been fine with before) was something she couldn't deal with anymore, that she wanted to be with a 'full blown woman'. And it really fucking hurt, it still does. It's the exact reason why she didn't want to meet anyone new, to save herself the heartache and pain. Because how was Emma going to find someone to accept her if the one person who did really didn't?

But now that her dad was telling her that she needed to give herself a chance and that Regina was a sweet and understanding person, that thought is somehow pushed to the back of her mind temporarily.

"Okay, I'll do it. I'll go meet her."

* * *

"I can't do it." Emma grumbles as she, Ariel, and Ruby sit at a table in the back of the venue. "I told my dad I'd go meet her, but I can't."

"What are you afraid of?" Ariel asks, nudging Emma on the shoulder.

Emma just shrugs and swirls the glass filled with rum around on the table. "I don't know. It's like, I felt so confident and now I'm not. What if she's repulsed by me?"

"Just go talk to her." Ruby groans, pulling her phone out. So, she may have jumped the gun thinking that their operation wasn't going to fail, but Ariel was right. Emma was as stubborn as they come, and they need to think of something fast. "Seriously, Emma. Get off your ass, go over there, and introduce yourself! Not every person is Lily."

"I can't!" Emma repeats, gulping down the drink in front of her before resting her head on the table.

Ariel looks at Ruby, rolling her eyes at Emma's antics and Ruby smirks, mouthing 'I got this' to her before texting Mary-Margaret.

 **Ruby:** plan A failed, plan B failed. Time for Plan C. Bring Regina over to meet Emma.

 _ **M &M:** you betcha!_

Ruby smiles widely, putting her phone back in her pocket, as she sees Mary-Margaret nod in their direction. She watches as Regina nods and follows Mary-Margaret over towards their table.

"Ariel, let's go get drinks." Ruby says, hastily getting up from the table and pulling Ariel with her, leaving Emma by herself. Emma lifts her head and presses her lips together and narrows her eyes, wondering why Ruby and Ariel were acting the way they were when her mom's voice is heard.

"Emma? There's someone I'd like for you to meet." Mary-Margaret says from behind her. Emma sighs and turns around in her chair, her breath hitching as she gets her first good look at Regina. "Emma, this is..."

"Regina?" Emma's eyes go wide. From afar, Regina was gorgeous, but up close? She was absolutely breathtaking. Emma takes a few seconds to take in all of the brunette's features. She noticed that her hair was a lot blacker than she thought and that her eyes were the perfect shade of chocolate brown. She then spots the scar above Regina's lip, the one she had seen in so many pictures, and instantly notices how it compliments her plump, red lips.

"Emma?" Regina asks, raising an eyebrow at the green-eyed blonde in front of her.

"You two know each other?" Mary-Margaret feigns shock.

"Sort of." Emma shrugs and Regina just nods in agreement.

"Well, cool! Have fun, bye!" Mary-Margaret exclaims as she walks away, waving goodbye.

"So..." Emma breathes out, her nerves going wild as she stares at Regina. "That's my mom and this is the dinner party."

"It's a small world." Regina ponders as she furrows her brow. "Wait, why is your last name different from hers?"

"How did you know my..."

"Ruby." Regina interrupts. "She came to take pictures of a house and she said that her best friend's last name was Swan when I asked about your company's name. And your mom told me her daughter was the other photographer, so... yeah. I just put two and two together."

"Oh, right. My dad, David, his last name is Swan." Emma replies. "My name is technically Emma Blanchard-Swan, but using just Swan is easier."

"Fair enough." Regina says as she sits down next to Emma. Emma lets out a deep breath, trying to get comfortable around one of the most breathtaking women she's ever seen in her life. "So, this is... Uhm."

"Yeah." Emma replies, knowing exactly what Regina means. "I'm, uh, glad we met though."

"Me, too." Regina smiles and her eyes light up, and Emma swears she dies in that very moment. Regina was ridiculously cute, especially when she shyly tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear. "My evening seems less dull, now."

"I'm glad to be there for your entertainment." Emma jokes, finally starting to feel comfortable. Emma then looks over at Ruby and Ariel at the bar, who were smiling widely with their thumbs up. They knew all along, and Emma was going to have to have a conversation with Ruby when they got home. "So, you met Ruby."

"I did."

"She told me she ran into you, but not that she knew you worked for my mom." Emma chuckles. "I have a feeling they had this planned since Tuesday."

"That's what best friends do, they meddle." Regina laughs along with Emma.

"I guess I'll have to thank her."

"Why?" Regina raises an eyebrow.

"Because I met you because of her." Emma smiles and Regina looks at her out of the corner of her eye, matching her smile. "And I'm really pleased that I did."

* * *

Ruby, Ariel, Mary-Margaret, David, and Killian all watch from a distance as Emma and Regina talk. They're both laughing wildly, genuine smiles on both of their faces.

"This is so disgustingly cute." Killian groans as he takes a drink.

"It's like they were made for each other." Ariel smiles as they watch Regina playfully push Emma on the arm with Emma laughing.

"I'm not drunk enough for this." Killian mutters.

"Well, guys... and Killian, I guess... we did it. Operation Red Panda didn't fail. It's all thanks to Mary-Margaret though." Ruby says, raising her glass to clink it against everyone in the group.

"I haven't seen her smile like that since Lily." Mary-Margaret chimes in, a wide smile on her face as she leans into her husband.

"You did amazing, babe. I'm sorry I doubted you guys about Emma. She's finally acting like herself again." David replies, placing a soft kiss on his wife's head.

"And this is just the beginning," Ruby sing-songs. "They just met and look at them!"

The group turns their attention back to Regina and Emma. Regina's talking animatedly as Emma leans forward, her hand under her chin as she listens and gives Regina her undivided attention. There's a glimmer in Emma's eyes that they can spot from across the room, a vibrant smile painted in her face. This is the best outcome that they could have hoped for, seeing Emma interested and seemingly happy. To see that truly genuine smile that they hadn't seen in over a year since things took a turn from the worst with Lily.

"It sure is a sight to see." An unknown voice says from beside the group. They all tear their eyes away from the pair and look over to see Regina's friend, Kathryn. "I haven't seen her this open and smiley since Mal."

"Mal?"

"Regina's ex. Cold-hearted bitch, if you ask me." Kathryn shrugs. "Regina needs to move on and it seems like your friend does, too. Maybe they can find that together."

"So you're the best friend who set Regina up with Emma?" Ruby asks.

"I am."

"Great minds think alike." Ruby smiles, proud of herself. "I'm just happy they finally met."

* * *

"And then Ruby comes stumbling into our apartment, drunk off her ass, spouting nonsense about this Australian girl she saw at the library." Emma laughs as she tells Regina a drunk story of Ruby. (Because people like drunk stories, right?) "She literally grabbed Ariel by the face and said, 'oh my god, Ari, you will not BELIEVE how fucking cute this girl is. And her accent, oh my god. Australia is like the perfect definition of **Damn Nature, You Scary** , but this girl was like _WOW_ '. And after that extremely random rant, she passed out on the couch."

Regina's busting up, laughing her ass off as she pictures Emma's best friend drunk. "That's hilarious! I bet you never let her live that down."

"Oh, you bet I don't. It's what she gets for meddling with my life." Emma jokes, smiling widely at the brunette. "I'm having a really fun time with you."

"I am, too." Regina says shyly, her head leaning down, but her eyes looking up at Emma. And Emma melts because that look that Regina's giving her, the one that hides behind her hair, the shyness and subtlety is making it impossible for Emma to think straight.

And Regina feels it, too. That random spark between them with Emma's fingers accidentally brush against her own when she reaches for her drink. Those emerald green eyes staring into her own like they're studying her, like they want to know everything about her. And she wants to know Emma, too.

"I, uhm-" Emma stutters out, feeling too nervous to say what she wants to. Suddenly, she feels like a bumbling idiot around Regina. Their conversation had mostly been talking about embarrassing and funny stories about their friends, but now that Emma wants to further know Regina Mills, she can't even think of one cohesive thought. "I'm still not good at this."

"You're doing just fine." Regina smiles, repeating the message she had once sent the blonde.

"Thanks." Emma says softly, pressing her thin lips in a small smile. "Do you, uh, maybe want to do this again, but somewhere else where we're not being watched by hawks?"

Regina chuckles, looking towards the group of people that Emma gestures towards. All of the people in the group turning around to pretend they weren't paying any attention to the pair, but they both know they've been watched the entire time. "I think I'd like that."

* * *

"So how'd it go?" Ruby pokes Emma in the side as they drive back to their condo.

"Really well, actually." Emma says as she pulls into the parking lot. "She's really nice and I like talking to her."

"That's good!" Ruby exclaims happily as they walk into the building. "I'm so glad you guys connected."

"About that... Ruby, I love you. But from here on out, no more meddling, okay?" Emma breathes out as they walk into their condo. "It's just like- okay, so thank you, first of all. But I just... I was caught off guard by her being there and everyone knowing but me. I wanted to meet her on my own accord, you know?"

"I know, I'm sorry. But it was the perfect opportunity and I just wanted to see you smile for real." Ruby admits as she trudges towards her bedroom. "I know I should have told you so you'd be aware, but I also didn't want you to freak out more than you did."

"You're forgiven." Emma smiles as she yawns.

"Yay!" Ruby cheers happily before pushing open her bedroom door. "Thank you for not being mad at me."

Emma just chuckles as she heads towards her own bedroom, the need to sleep weighing heavily on her. "You were only wanting what's best for me. I get it. Goodnight, Red."

"Night, Emma! Try not to think too **hard** about a certain brunette tonight." Ruby jokes as she closes her door.

Emma shakes her head lightly as she opens her door, stripping down into her boxers and a white v-neck before falling backwards on her bed. She checks her phone one last time, seeing Regina's name pop up on the screen. They had exchanged phones numbers at the dinner party and promised to plan their next get together, but the text that appears on Emma's phone screen has her heart skipping beats.

 _ **R:**_ _I know I said this already, but I'm really glad I met you. You seem like one of the most genuine and intriguing person I've met and I would love to get to know you. I know it's late, but I wanted to let you know that I had a great time_ _tonight_ _, and I can't wait for us to see each other again. Goodnight :)_

* * *

 **Yay! They finally met. And now the title to this story doesn't make as much sense from here on out.**

 **All in favor to change it? Or just leave it?***

 **Also, as I said, Chapter 5 will be out as soon as it's finished and edited. It won't take more than a few days. It's really just a matter of me finding wi-fi to post it. (I write all of these on my iPhone).**

And who loves that Ruby is the one giving dating advice? I wanted to write her somewhat OOC because she said in Season 5 that she is the last person anyone should go to for dating advice, but I love how open about it she is in this fic.

 *** I guess we should like vote if I should change the story title. I was thinking if I did change it because "Haven't Met You Yet" doesn't really work when they've met, I'd change it to something like "Made For Each Other" or whatever. Your choice. Vote in the reviews or something (or send me cool title ideas because I made the title on a whim).**


	5. Sunsets and Silhouettes

**This is the longest chapter I've written so far! I'm excited for where this story goes.**

 **With that being said, this story isn't going to be all fluff, but mainly. There will be some drama, and I definitely have set the story up for that drama to happen sometime in the near future in this chapter...**

* * *

 _Chapter 5 - Sunsets and Silhouettes_

 **1 1/2 Years Ago**  
Emma walks into her apartment after spending a long day at work. All she wanted to do was wind down and relax, but as soon as her eye catches the luggage by the door, she knows her night is going to be anything but calm.

Her eyebrow raises as she continues walking through the apartment.

"Lily?" Emma calls out into the dimly lit hallway. Their bedroom light was on, so Emma assumes that her girlfriend is in there.

She walks towards the room and pushes open the door, gasping as she's met with the sight of missing belongings. She closes her eyes and shakes her head, reopening them to see if her mind was playing tricks on her, but it wasn't. Almost all of Lily's stuff was gone. Emma runs to the closet, noticing half of it had been cleaned out. She backs out of the closet, mouth gaping as she notices all of the pictures of her and Lily were taken out of the frames and laying on the surface.

"What the fu-" Emma starts but is cut off by the sound of the front door closing. She rushes into the hallway to see a girl she didn't know picking up the suitcases by the front door. "Who are you?"

The girl jumps, dropping the suitcase, shocked that Emma was present in the house.

"Shit, Lily said you wouldn't be here." A British accent echoes off the wall.

And instantly, Emma feels her heart start to break.

"What's going on here?" Emma says through a shaky voice.

The girl sighs and reaches around into her back pocket, retrieving a piece of paper from it. She hands it to Emma before picking up the suitcases. "Lily's leaving."

Tears start to stream down Emma's face as she watches the girl turn on a heel and open the door to her now empty apartment. "Wha-who are you?" Emma asks again, the sobbing now very apparent in her voice.

"I'm Zelena, love. Your now ex girlfriend's new girlfriend." The reddish haired girl replies before kicking the door shut.

Emma falls to the ground, her body shaking uncontrollably as she tries to breathe heavily through the excessive crying. The piece of paper addressed to her vibrating as her hand trembles. She opens it. She doesn't know why, why she was torturing herself seconds after finding out that her girlfriend had just left her for another woman... but she needed answers.

And she needed them now.

 _Emma,_

 _If you're reading this, it means I'm already gone. I'm sorry it had to come to this, but I cannot live this lie anymore. I knew what I was getting into when I first met you three years ago, and I was perfectly okay with that and your condition. But now, I can't be with you. It's just something I can't deal with anymore. I strayed away and when I felt the way I did with someone else, I knew I couldn't stay. I love you, Emma, but I cannot stay and pretend that I still want to be with you. You're an amazing person and I have no doubt that you'll find someone to love and accept you, all of you. But I simply do not anymore. I fell in love with someone else and it is not fair to you or her that I let it go any further. I've paid the rent through the end of the lease, a gesture of goodwill since I left. I'm sorry we could not have this conversation in person, but I couldn't face you. Take care, Emma._

 _Regards,_

 _Lilith_

Emma drops the note and sinks lower onto the hardwood floors in her entry way. Lily was gone. Lily was gone and she had cheated on her. The one and only person Emma had ever been in a relationship with, the only person Emma had trusted with her condition and her heart... had left her for someone else. Because her added appendage wasn't suiting for her, anymore.

And Emma could feel the shattered fragments of her heart float around her chest, aching to be mended back together. But Emma knew that wasn't possible.

Emma knew that there would be no one else that could love and accept her.

* * *

Emma's eyes shoot open as the sound of her phone's ringtone echoes off of her bedroom walls. She groans loudly, grabbing it and looking at the Caller ID. Knowing she can't really ignore the caller, she answers, sleep lacing her voice.

"Hey, mom."

"Emma, darling. Are you okay? You sound... upset." Mary-Margaret asks cautiously.

"Yeah. No, I'm good. Just uh- bad dream." Emma replies honestly, holding a hand over her heart after enduring the very vivid flashback of the one moment that had completely ruined her.

Emma can hear her mother sigh. "Do you want to talk about it?"

And Emma shakes her head, even though her mom can't see it. She really was okay, more than okay.

As much as Emma didn't want to admit that Ruby was right, she had seen a huge change in herself in the past week since she had first met Regina. After running into her at the dinner party, they had talked non-stop through text messages. Both had been extremely busy throughout the work week, so it was all they could manage, but to Emma, it was more than enough.

Because for once, she felt a piece of her shattered heart fuse with another, ever so slightly. It was not enough for Emma to jump into a relationship, nor was it enough to wash away Emma's insecurities and doubts, but it was a start. And it had done so when she accidentally brushed her hand against Regina's and felt that spark. That spark that turned into a flame and trailed straight to her chest cavity, reunited two small pieces like mending the broken pieces of a sword.

"Mom, really. I'm going to be just fine." Emma smiles wholeheartedly and even though Mary-Margaret couldn't see it, Emma believed in her own words for once in her life.

"Okay, sweetheart. I was just wondering." Mary-Margaret says sincerely. "Can you do a shoot for us on Monday?"

"Of course!"

"Thank you so much!" Mary-Margaret beams. "I'll talk to you later. I love you."

"I love you, too, mom."

After her phone call with her mom ended, Emma decided to get up and get on with her day. She wanted to finally take time away from paying clients and actually expand her portfolio. She looks at the time and ponders on an idea before unlocking her phone and typing out a message.

* * *

"I'm so glad you're doing well, sis. We absolutely must get together soon." Regina's older half-sister Zelena beams through the phone.

"I completely agree, dear. I've just been super busy with work." Regina replies as she sits at her desk. She's been going through paperwork on a house she's recently leased to a couple, and knows she can't let a phone call set her back.

"You're working now, aren't you?" Zelena chuckles as Regina rolls her eyes.

"I can't really take a break if I want to get out of here before the sun sets." Regina deadpans, hearing her phone signal a text message notification as she talks to her sister.

"What was that noise?" Zelena asks absentmindedly.

"It was just a text, Z. I'll answer it later." Regina shrugs it off.

"Is it that woman you've been talking to?" Zelena gasps excitedly.

Regina furrows her brow. "How did you know I've been talking to someone?"

"Oh, come on, Gina. You don't think Kathryn doesn't keep me updated on your life? Dish! I want to know who she is and what she does." Zelena exclaims causing Regina to scowl. Of course, Kathryn would be sharing personal details of Regina's life with her family. She wouldn't be Kathryn if she didn't.

"Okay, okay. Let me just finish this up real fast." Regina scoffs while looking over the paperwork once more to make everything was set in stone. Once she realizes that it is, she sets her pen down and focuses her attention back to her sister. "Her name is Emma. She's a photographer."

"Ooh, how exhilarating!" Zelena says. And of course she would respond that way. Zelena was definitely a vain person who loved having her picture taken. Regina, on the other hand, not so much. She was a simplistic woman, and she never really liked the way she looked in many photographs.

"If you say so." Regina shrugs.

"So how are things going with her?"

"I don't know. We've only met once. We're just talking, we're friends, and she's nice, but that's it." Regina groans.

"So was it her that texted you?" Zelena asks again.

"I've been on the phone with you! I don't know!"

"Well, put me on speaker phone and check your messages, darling. I want to know what she said!" Zelena presses and Regina sighs.

She puts her phone on speaker before exiting out of the call screen and checking her text messages. It had been a text from Emma, and Regina can feel the smile growing on her face as she reads it.

"Well?" Zelena asks expectantly.

"It just says, _'Hey, Regina. I know you're at work right now, but I was wondering if you'd maybe want to do something afterwards? My schedule is actually clear for once'_." Regina reads the text aloud.

"Say yes!" Zelena practically squeals into the phone. "Seriously, sis! She's practically asking you out! Say yes, god damn it!"

* * *

They ended up at Santa Monica Beach an hour before the sun set. (Obviously, Regina had said yes, much to Zelena's excitement). Emma had coerced her to ride the Ferris wheel where she snuck in a few pictures of Regina and got a bunch of shots of the ocean and beach.

Currently, they were walking along the sand on the shore, listening to the waves crash. Emma kept sneaking in glances at the older brunette. She was dressed in a simple sundress but Emma thought she pulled it off with eloquence. She watches as Regina shivers a bit at the ocean breeze, her hands moving up and down her bare arms in an attempt to warm herself up.

"I should have brought a jacket." Regina chuckles. "I haven't been to the beach in awhile and I forgot how cold it gets."

Instantly, Emma sheds her red leather jacket off and slows down to trail behind Regina, draping the jacket on her shoulders. "There."

Regina turns around and smiles at the blonde, gripping the jacket around her shoulders. "You didn't have to do that. You shouldn't have to bear the cold on behalf of my mistake."

"I wore a baseball tee." Emma gestures to her shirt. "The sleeves are long enough to keep me warm, promise."

"If you insist."

"Of course. What kind of person would I be if I let you freeze to death?" Emma says while breathing out a short chuckle.

"Well, if you let me freeze to death, then my serial killer theory would be pretty spot on." Regina jokes and Emma's laughing so hard that her hands fold over her stomach. "So, tell me, Emma, have you lived in LA your whole life?"

Emma's laughter finally dies down and the two continue walking down the beach. "No, we used to live in Phoenix, but we moved here when I started at UCLA. That's where I met Ruby."

"So you've been friends for a long time, I take it?"

"Actually, no. We met at photography conference at UCLA that we attended for alumni. I've only know for about a year and a half. She's a pain in the ass, but she's my pain in the ass. You know?" Emma raises her eyebrows.

"I do, that's how Kathryn and I are." Regina agrees.

"So why did you move to LA from Maine?" Emma asks and Regina stops walking. She turns out towards the ocean and stares at it, watching the waves crash on the shore. Her hair was blowing gently in the wind and while Emma didn't want to be weird or creepy, she couldn't stop herself from snapping a candid photo of Regina in that very moment. Especially when the sun was setting on the horizon, and the hues of orange and pink painted across the sky contrasted perfectly with Regina's complexion and hair color and Emma's red jacket wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

"I, uh... I needed a break from my life. My mother is kind of overbearing..." Regina starts out, hesitating a bit before continuing. "She's always been super pushy and old fashioned, you know? And I had recently gotten out of a bad relationship... It was just a lot of things that caused me to move."

Emma's stunned, not because of Regina's story, but for the fact that for the first time, Regina had opened up to her. It was but a tiny glimpse and Emma knew there was a bigger picture, but she didn't want to pressure Regina into anything she didn't want to share.

"Wow, I'm sorry. That must have been hard, leaving everyone behind." Emma consoles, stepping next to Regina who looks in her direction.

"I didn't. Kathryn came with me and my sister already lived out in California, so I wasn't completely alone." Regina admits with her lips pressed in a small half smile.

"You're not alone..." Emma starts out, smirking as she continues. "You're being graced with my presence."

"Thinking highly of yourself, are you?" Regina jokes, chuckling low under her breath.

"I think the word you used once was 'cocky'." Emma replies, recalling the conversation they had when they first started talking.

"You're right." Regina smiles, turning to face Emma. "But don't worry, you're not too bad."

"Okay, Kathryn." Emma laughs, causing Regina to lean forward while giggling at the joke.

They're close in proximity and Emma can feel her stomach do flips as their bodies stand about four inches apart. The laughing stops and they're staring at each other. Emma braces herself, unsure of what to do next. She can feel her heart tug, begging for her to lean forward and kiss Regina, but her mind halts the action. Instead, she just looks down into Regina's eyes and waits to see if she'd make the first move.

But neither of them do. The sound of a phone blaring in a coat pocket snaps both of them back into reality.

Emma groans as Regina hands her her phone that was in the leather jacket wrapped around her shoulders.

"It's Ruby. Hold on." Emma tells Regina as she answers the phone, doing her best to stop being flustered after their almost-kiss. (If she can even call it that). "What's up, Rubes?"

"Emma, hey! I just wanted to let you know I ran into that redhead again. Her name is Belle and we're going out tonight. Did you and Regina want to join us?" Ruby asks.

"Uh..." Emma draws out before covering the microphone on her phone. "Ruby wants to know if we want to go out with them tonight?"

"Do you?" Regina questions, looking at the unreadable look on Emma's face.

Emma shrugs, her shoulders slumping. "I mean, I'm not really in the mood to deal with drunk people."

"So, tell her I have to work early tomorrow or something." Regina suggests and Emma nods.

She removes her hand from the speaker. "Rubes? I think we're going to pass. Regina has other obligations early tomorrow and I wouldn't want to inconvenience her by making her stay out late with us."

"Aww. Dang, well okay. Have fun tonight! Use protection!" Ruby chuckles.

Emma's eyes go wide at Ruby's comment. There was no way in hell she was ready to have sex with Regina just yet. Hell, she still hasn't told Regina about her condition, and quite frankly, she's not sure if she's going to. She knew she was tip-toeing around the issue, but she wanted to be sure that her heart was ready for the possible rejection.

"Not happening, Lucas." Emma plays it off as to not let Regina know something was up. "I'm hanging up now. See you later."

Emma hangs up and Regina raises an eyebrow at the blonde, wondering a few things. "Why didn't you say I had work?"

"Because she'll call my mom and ask. Ruby's weird like that." Emma admits.

"Ah. So I can never use the work excuse with her. Damn." Regina jokes.

"You can't really lie to her period. But since she doesn't know you too well, I assumed that was the best way for her not to push it."

"And what was her response when you told her?" Regina asks, curiousity piquing.

"She assumed other obligations meant sex."

Regina's eyes practically bulge out of her skull when Emma nonchalantly tells her what Ruby had said. "I- uh... wow! She really doesn't beat around the bush, does she?" Regina asks, her face flushed.

"Not really, no." Emma chuckles. "She has no filter."

"I can tell." Regina replies, turning back to face the ocean. The sun was almost fully set and the night sky was moving in slowly. "Hey, Emma?"

Emma scoots closer to Regina, standing in her peripheral vision. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for bringing me here, today." Regina smiles as she hugs Emma's jacket around her body again.

"You're welcome."

* * *

The rest of their evening had gone well. After they left Santa Monica, Emma drove them back to her condo where Regina's car was parked. They stood outside in silence, neither of them really knowing what to say or do.

Emma could feel the butterflies in her stomach as Regina leans in to hug her, making sure their waists keep a modest distance which Emma was thankful for.

She recalls a memory of Ruby hugging her tightly after they finally paid off their condo, and then making a comment about how she could feel Emma's package pressing against her. Ruby wasn't complaining, it was just an observation but Emma has since kept everything below her waist far away from people who were unaware of her condition when hugging them.

"I had a lot of fun today." Regina practically whispers as they hug. Emma just nods, slightly nuzzling her face against Regina's cheek.

"I did, too." Emma beams as they break apart from the hug, but stay close to each other. "It was seriously a beautiful day and I'm glad I spent it with you."

Regina ducks her head, blushing lightly at Emma's comment. She slowly leans forward and places a short and sweet kiss on Emma's cheek. "Goodnight, Emma."

Emma flashes a toothy grin, the warmth from Regina's lips still buzzing on her skin. Her hand instinctively lifts to her cheek, fingers grazing over the site of the kiss.

"Night, Regina."

* * *

 **We're getting places! And uh-oh... Regina's sister is dating Emma's ex and everyone's completely unaware.**

 **What will happen?**

 **Also, if anyone would like to make cover art for this story, it'd be greatly appreciated :)**

 **Until next time, my faithful readers**


	6. The Talk

**Long story short, this is probably my least favorite chapter. (Now also the longest, almost 4K). But, I hope you can make it through. I will be posting Chapter 7 in like two days. I'm halfway done with it already!**

* * *

 _Chapter 6 - The Talk_

Regina's morning starts out like any Sunday morning would. Her internal alarm clock wakes her up at 6:00am on the dot, she gets up and makes herself a coffee, and sits on her chaise lounge while reading a book. But instead of instantly diving into the new book she had purchased, Regina finds herself checking her phone.

It was almost routine for her now, glancing at her phone screen to see if Emma had texted her. Since the dinner party, the pair hadn't gone a day without talking to each other, and like all things routine, there's a message from Emma sitting in her notifications.

Regina unlocks her phone and opens the message, wondering why Emma had sent her a photo attachment. Her eyes lock in on the picture that Emma had attached in a message from last night.

 **Emma:** so I know you don't like your picture being taken, but I thought you might want to see this one.  
 **Emma:** [image]

Regina opens the photo so it's larger and her breath hitches. It's a picture of her, watching the sunset with Emma's jacket around her shoulders. Her hair blowing back from the ocean breeze and a thoughtful expression seen from the side of her face. She notes how light brown her eyes look in the remaining sunlight and her lips naturally purse when deep in thought. She looked beautiful.

And Regina never thought that about herself when she sees photos. She always thinks she looks awkward with a forced smile on her face, but this photo has her thinking otherwise. And while she was completely unaware that it was taken, it was one of the best photos of her. She looked comfortable.

Regina lets out a breath as she zooms in on the picture, the complexion of her skin glowing while the colors of the sky compliment it. Emma definitely had a good eye and Regina can't believe that the photographer made her feel so damn pretty with just one photograph.

"Holy shit." She breathes out as she exits the photo, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.

Thoughts were swimming through her mind as she looks up from her phone and spots Emma's jacket draped over her office chair. She had completely forgotten that she accidentally taken it home with her, so instead of replying to Emma's text, she gets up off of the chaise lounge and grabs the jacket. The smell of Emma still lingered on the inside, the scent of the ocean sticking on the leather. Regina inhales it before shaking her head. She walks out of the office and grabs her keys, heading out through the garage. She gets in her car and lays the jacket delicately on the passenger seat before heading to Emma's condo.

She arrives 30 minutes later, looking at the building as she sits in the parking lot. It was only 7:30 in the morning and Regina's wondering if she should have waited until later in the day to return the jacket. She didn't want to be that person who woke someone up over something as trivial as returning an accidentally confiscated article of clothing. She bites on her lower lip before ultimately deciding she should just return the jacket later when her phone buzzes.

She lifts it out of the cup holder and sees a text from Emma sitting on her lock screen.

 **Emma:** are you just going to sit outside of my condo all day? I didn't peg you for the stalkerish type ;P

Regina chuckles, shaking her head as she glances out the window to see Emma standing in the window on the 3rd floor. She smiles widely as she gets out of the car, watching Emma wave slightly as she grabs the jacket from her passenger seat.

Emma makes hand gestures, telling Regina which condo number was hers and Regina nods, walking into the building. She inhales sharply as she reaches Emma's door, realizing this would be the first time she's ever seen the inside of her place.

She lifts her fist to knock, but the door swings open and Emma's staring at her with a goofy smile.

"Finally. I was thinking you'd be sitting outside all day." Emma jokes causing Regina to lowly chuckle.

"I was about to leave actually. I realized 7:30 is an ungodly hour to just show up to someone's house." Regina admits, holding out Emma's jacket.

"Thank you." Emma says as she grabs the jacket and throws it over her shoulder. Regina nods and starts scanning the inside of Emma's condo from the doorway. It was full of photos that Regina assumed either Emma or Ruby took. There were a bunch of nature shots, plus a giant portrait of Ruby and Emma, cameras dangling from their necks as they pose in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. Regina smiles as she turns her attention back to Emma.

"I like your place." Regina says absentmindedly as she stares Emma up and down. The blonde was in a red hoodie and grey sweatpants. Regina's eyes travel down towards Emma's waist and she notices a vague outline of something. What, she's not sure, but there was definitely something in Emma's pants. She shakes the thought, figuring it must be her phone in her pocket, and looks back up and Emma who has her lips pressed together.

"Yeah, Ruby wanted to display our work everywhere, so we just hung a bunch of prints." Emma shrugs as she opens the door wider. "Did you want to come in?"

"Actually, I should probably get going. My sister wants to spend the day together and San Diego is a couple hours away. I should probably head her way. She's a little crazy when it comes to me being on time." Regina admits, instantly feeling bad that she didn't take up Emma's offer to come in. But if there's one thing she knows about Zelena, it was to not keep her waiting.

"I understand. My mom is the same way."

"Oh, I know. She is always watching the clock when I'm supposed to come in and calls me if I'm a minute late." Regina laughs.

"That's my mom for you." Emma replies. "But, anyways! Have a fun time with your sister."

"Oh, I'll try. She'll probably just pry into my non-existent love life the entire time." Regina shrugs, biting on her lower lip as she continues staring at Emma. She doesn't know what it is about the blonde that draws her in, but she steps forward and once again, presses a kiss to a pale cheek. "I may text you complaining about needing saving."

"I'll be there for you." Emma smiles as she gently hugs the brunette. "You better get going. I wouldn't want you to get your head ripped off by your sister before our second date."

"So, yesterday was a date?" Regina asks, her heart fluttering at the blonde's comment.

"Oh, uh... I'm sorry. I didn't want to assume, but I thought..." Emma stutters out and Regina thinks it's the most adorable thing she's ever seen.

Regina just grabs a hold of Emma's hand and squeezes it. "I'll try not to get my head ripped off before our second date."

* * *

She was fifteen minutes late. And to her lack of surprise, Zelena had counted every minute from the time she originally told her sister she'd be arriving. It's not that Regina wasn't punctual, she was mostly always early. But traffic on the 405 can get a little ridiculous, especially in the early morning.

When she arrives, she's instantly met with a hug and around ten questions about her date with Emma, to which she just played it off as no big deal. Zelena was not having it at all, and Regina just wanted her to shut up for a god damn minute so she could breathe. She loved her sister, she really did, but sometimes she was too much.

Zelena definitely took after Cora, their mother. She was overbearing and pushy, but Regina knows she had good intentions. She was just looking out for her baby sister.

"So, can I see what she looks like?" Zelena asks as they sit in the living room, talking over a cup of tea.

"I would say yes, but I don't have any photos of her. We've only been on one semi-date." Regina admits, but Zelena just shakes her head.

"Don't you both still have that dating app? Can't we just see her pictures on her profile?"

"Uh, no." Regina draws out. "We both deleted our accounts after we exchanged numbers."

"So it's serious then? I mean, no one would do that unless they had found someone worth talking to." Zelena takes a sip of her tea, eyeing Regina.

"No, I- I don't know. Kathryn made my profile and it was ridiculous and a huge joke to me. Emma's best friend did the same thing so... there was no point in us having them." Regina replies, trying not to think too much into it. She deleted her profile because she was never going to use it beyond talking to Emma. But Emma hadn't exactly told her why she deleted her own. She figured it was the same reason she got rid of hers, seeing as both of their best friends had made the damn things.

Zelena sets the cup down and leans forward, hand perched under her chin. "Do you like her?"

"I think I do. A lot, actually." Regina admits out loud and she's actually surprised with herself. She hadn't even told Kathryn that she felt something, however minuscule, for the blonde. "She's just- she's sincere and real. She took this picture of me yesterday when I wasn't looking and made me feel so... beautiful and free."

Zelena gasps, hand covering her mouth as she scoots closer to her sister. "You must show me!"

Regina rolls her eyes, pulling out her phone and opening the message thread between her and Emma. She clicks on the photo and hands the phone to Zelena who once again gasps and then somehow manages to release a horrible high pitched squeal.

"Oh my god! This is absolutely breathtaking, Reggie!" Zelena exclaims excitedly. "You know what they say about pictures like this? The most beautiful pictures are taken in someone's natural state. You look gorgeous! And I bet Emma thinks that, too, or she wouldn't have sent this to you."

"So, she thinks I'm pretty. It's not a big deal, it's her job to have an eye for that kind of thing." Regina shrugs it off as nothing.

"It's completely unedited. I can tell because everything contrasts perfectly, and I can see enough of your skin complexion to know she didn't smooth any of this out. This is a 100% raw photo of you. She shared this with you because this is exactly how she sees you!" Zelena practically squeals. "Photographers are almost always iffy about their work before editing. And she gave you this photo without touching it. Gina, she likes you, too!"

"You're jumping to conclusions, Z. I hardly know her still." Regina groans, wishing her sister would just butt out.

"So get to know her! I get that you're skeptical about opening up, but take a chance! You only live once and I would prefer to see my baby sister happy."

"I- I don't know, Zelena. She's nice and super sweet. What if I fuck it up like I did with... her?" Regina shudders at the thought of Mal.

"Regina, not everyone is your ex." Zelena assures. "Just... give the damn girl a chance!"

"Okay, okay. Fine!" Regina caves. "Sometimes, I hate when you're right."

"Oh, darling, I'm always right."

* * *

Emma paces the kitchen at her parents' house as she slightly freaks out. Once she had retrieved her jacket from Regina, the blonde had headed back into the condo, Ruby making a blunt comment that she could see the outline of Emma's dick in her grey sweatpants. And it caused Emma to have a total meltdown.

Not that she meant to get overly anxious over something like that, she usually doesn't, especially with Ruby. But she still hadn't told Regina and now the brunette probably saw what she'd been trying so desperately to hide and is refusing to talk to her.

"Emma, you need to stop walking back and forth." David says calmly as he sits at the kitchen table. "It's like watching a frantic tennis match."

"I just don't know what to do!" Emma whines, causing David to roll his eyes at his daughter. "I actually like her and if she saw what Ruby pointed out, she probably thinks I'm a freak!"

"You are NOT a freak." David replies sternly, standing up and walking over to his daughter. "You're different and special, but Emma, you are not some freak of nature."

Emma stops pacing and shrugs her shoulders. She knew her dad was right, he always is. It's not like she meant to freak out, but she didn't want Regina to find out before she was ready and decide she wasn't into that.

"Em, listen to me. You need to tell her. You can't let things progress without her knowing." David suggests. "It's not fair to her and it's not fair to you. You can't string her along under false pretenses."

And David is right, once again. She understood where he was coming from. It wasn't fair to Regina that Emma kept the biggest part of her a secret. And Emma knew that if she wanted things to grow with the brunette, she'd have to let her in and tell Regina.

And she hated it. Absolutely hated it. Because Regina was someone Emma could actually see herself with. They balanced each other out, they never let a moment between them grow dull. And Emma, regardless of how many times she argued that meeting someone online was ridiculous, found Regina to be completely different and genuine. She only wished that Regina would be accepting of her condition.

"Okay..." Emma breathes out, her nerves running rampant through her. "I'll tell her."

* * *

Regina's day had been long. She and Zelena had gone around San Diego, shopping and gossiping (as Zelena was best at). She had just made it back to LA when Mary-Margaret called her asking her if she could drop by Emma and Ruby's place to get something for her since she was still held up in the office.

She felt nervous as she knocked on the door to the condo. She hadn't spoken to Emma all day due to Zelena's random "no phones" rule and she refused to text while driving. She only hoped that the blonde was home.

Ruby answers the door, smiling widely as she sees Regina. "Hey! Whatcha doing here?"

"Uhm, Mary-Margaret said that Emma had photos of a house before it was renovated. The buyers want before and after pictures, but we don't have the before photos. They were taken about a year and a half ago. MM says Emma keeps everything though."

"She does! Come in, they're probably somewhere in my closet." Ruby opens the door wider for Regina before leading her into her bedroom. "This used to be Emma's office before I moved in and there were a couple of boxes of photographs left behind in here. I bet they're in there."

Regina nods and waits as Ruby disappears into the closet before emerging with two boxes in her arms labeled "Emma 2015". Ruby huffs out as she sets them on the ground, moving the top box in front of Regina.

"What was the street the house was on?" Ruby asks as she starts looking through the mass amounts of pictures in the box, thankful Emma wrote on the back of them.

"Driftwood Cove." Regina replies as she opens the box Ruby set in front of her.

She gently places any pictures that are not of houses on the ground, trying her best not to spend too much time admiring Emma's work. She picks up the next stack, noticing a piece of paper slipping out from between the pictures. She pulls it out and goes to set it on the ground, but gasps when she notices that the paper had blood droplets all over it.

"Ruby, what is this?"

Ruby stops looking through her box and grabs the paper Regina is holding out. She quickly examines it before sighing loudly. "It's a letter from Emma's ex. This must have been from the day that she just upped and left her for someone else. She didn't even break up with her in person."

"That's terrible." Regina says sympathetically. "Why is there blood all over it?"

"Ariel told me that when she came over to check on Emma after everyone had heard about the news, the office was completely torn apart and wrecked. She said that there was a picture that Emma had punched and she broke the glass. Must have cut herself and bled all over it." Ruby shrugs as she sets the note on the ground. "It was a really bad break up."

Regina glances at it again, reading a sentence that she could make out from behind the blood stains.

'I knew what I was getting into when I first met you three years ago, and I was perfectly okay with that and your condition. But now, I can't be with you.'

Regina shakes her head, wondering what Emma's condition possibly was and why someone could have left the blonde over it. She puts her thoughts to the side, remembering why she came here in the first place.

She continues shuffling through the photos, coming up with nothing. She goes to grab the next stack, but feels something coarse brush against the top of her knuckle. She quickly pulls the pictures up to see what it was when she sees a shattered picture frame at the bottom of the box.

She picks it up and her heart stops. The girl in the photo, she knew her. Questions were swimming through her head, and Ruby notices the silence that had fallen over them. She looks up at Regina who had her mouth wide open as her hands shakily hold the picture frame.

"Regina, are you okay?"

"I know her." Regina breathes out. "She dated my sister... Her name was Lily, right?"

"Uh..." Ruby draws out. "Yeah."

Regina drops the picture frame back into the box, and slowly backs away from it. She had no idea what to make of the situation now. Regina remembers when Zelena had told her the story of what had happened between her and Lily. She remembers Zelena being so blinded by love that she ultimately helped Lily break up with her girlfriend, delivering the note that sat in front of her.

And then her heart breaks at the memory of Zelena telling her how distraught Emma had gotten when she found out. She wonders how someone could seemingly leave a person like Emma. As far as Regina was concerned, Emma was the sweetest, most genuine soul she had ever met. Guarded, most definitely, but she doesn't let it keep her down.

But this small fact changed a lot of things that Regina had thought about Emma. She had questions, naturally. Did Emma have some sort of medical condition that was fatal and that's why someone couldn't deal with it? Was Emma dying? Or was it something absolutely ridiculous and Lily was just a bitch about it? Either way, Regina wanted to know.

Her phone vibrating in her pocket pulls her out of her thoughts momentarily. She grabs it and looks at the screen, seeing a text from Emma appear.

 **Emma:** uh... hey. I need to talk to you about something. Can you meet me at my place?

* * *

Emma swallows the lump in her throat as she pushes the door open to her condo. She was nervous, hoping that the news she was about to tell Regina wasn't going to end with Regina leaving. After she had texted the brunette saying they needed to talk, she received a response that said 'I need to talk to you, too'.

She walks into the living room to see Regina on her couch, a broken picture frame and blood stained note sitting on the coffee table. She gulps loudly. She hasn't seen those two objects in almost two years, not after Ariel had come to clean up her place for her. She had merely assumed that the redhead had thrown them away.

"You dated Lily?" Regina's soft voice asks and Emma stands in front of the table, hands her in pockets.

She nods, sighing loudly. "I did. She broke up with me a year and a half ago..."

"I know... Uhm, my sister is the one who gave you this." Regina points to the note.

"So your sister is Zelena..." Emma breathes out. "Regina, look... whatever you know about me, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it sooner."

"Know? What could I possibly know?" Regina asks, confused.

Emma's eyes widen and she opens her mouth before shutting it promptly. "She didn't tell you? Zelena, she didn't tell you the reason why Lily left me?"

"She doesn't know that you're the same Emma... I haven't told her." Regina shakes her head before turning her attention to the letter. "But I assume it has something to do with a condition you have?"

"Uh, yeah." Emma says nervously.

Regina grabs a hold of Emma's hand, leading her to sit next to her on the couch. "What is it, Emma? You can tell me."

Emma looks down at the ground, soaking in the feeling of Regina's thumb brushing over her knuckles. She breathes in deep, feeling Regina's eyes on her. Her stomach was in knots as she tries to muster up the courage to tell Regina what she deserved to know.

"I- I'm different." Emma stutters out. "Like- I-"

Emma feels an arm wrap around her shoulder, pulling her closer until her body is flush against Regina's in a comforting side huge. "It's okay, Emma. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Emma says defensively and she instantly takes it back when Regina looks at her, offended. "No- I'm- I'm sorry. I just... I didn't- it's a defense mechanism. This thing, I- it changed a lot for me. And I- you deserve to know what's wrong with me."

Emma breathes out a nervous, shaky laugh as she tries to not sound like a bumbling idiot. She closes her eyes tightly, hoping that when the next sentence comes out of her mouth, Regina would still be there.

"Regina, I'm not like every other girl... I mean, I am but I- my anatomy is different and I'm-." Emma gulps loudly before squeezing her eyes as tightly shut as they could go. She lets out a deep breath, wondering what kind of expression was on Regina's face, but she couldn't open her eyes. She was too scared.

"Emma, I don't quite understand what you mean... Are you- are you okay?" Regina says softly, her hand gently stroking Emma's cheek.

"I was born with a penis."

* * *

 **Okay, so I rewrote this chapter like five times and I just couldn't get it to where I absolutely loved it. Regina finding out about Lily and Emma is so important to the story, though, and this is the best way I could show that.**

 **I hope you forgive me. The next chapter will be better, I promise.**


	7. Captivating Me

**I actually posted this chapter when I said I would! Now you won't have to wait any longer to see Regina's reaction!**

 **I'm really excited for where this story is heading and I cannot thank you awesome readers enough.**

 **Also, a big shout out to my reviewers. I love seeing what you guys think, what you speculate. I will always try and do my best to never disappoint you :)**

* * *

 _Chapter 7 - Captivating Me_

The room was silent and Emma could feel the thick air fill her lungs as she inhales deeply, holding her breath as she waits for Regina to reply. She had just told the brunette the one thing that could change everything between them; the one thing that was a matter of acceptance or rejection. And the silence was killing Emma, really killing her. She opens her eyes that had been shut tightly in a way to brace herself for the ultimate rejection, looking over at Regina who's smiling softly at her.

Emma furrows her eyebrow, confused as she tries to read the expression on Regina's face. Regina continues stroking her thumb over the back of Emma's hand, squeezing it gently when their eyes lock.

"Say something please." Emma barely whispers as her neck cranes to keep her eyes locked with Regina's.

A soft hand settles on Emma's cheek, olive skin contrasting against pale skin. Regina just stares deeply into Emma's green eyes as she leans forward and delicately places a kiss on Emma's lips. It was their first kiss and while Regina knew it was a little spur of the moment and probably caught the blonde off guard, it said everything she couldn't at this exact moment. And Regina knew that she couldn't just stare silently at Emma, she needed to do something to let Emma know that she was okay with the news. A little shocked, of course, and very curious. But perfectly fine and accepting of Emma's condition.

That kiss is exactly what she needed.

She pulls away, her cheeks flushed red as she ducks her head, doe eyes staring up at Emma. "Is that what you were so afraid of telling me?"

Emma sits there, dumbfounded, as she nods her head. "Yes. What did you think it was?"

"I don't know... that you were dying, or something along those lines." Regina shudders at the thought.

"So, you're...?" Emma pauses, and Regina nods.

"I'm perfectly okay with it." Regina smiles at Emma with pride. Emma had been terrified of telling Regina about her condition, but she did and Regina couldn't have been prouder of the blonde for sharing something like that with her.

Emma takes her lower lip between her teeth as she thinks. Regina hadn't run, she had said she was okay it. But so was Lily when they first started dating and well, Emma knows all too well how that ended.

 _She is not Lily. She is NOT Lily._ Emma repeats the mantra over and over again in her mind.

"I like you, Emma, and I accept all of who you are, okay?" Regina reassures as she notices the nervous shift in the blonde. "I don't even know how to describe it, you just- you captivate me."

Emma breathes out a nervous chuckle, nodding her head in agreement. "I could say the same for you. I was so terrified of telling you because I thought you'd be like... that you'd run away."

"I'm not that easy to get rid of, Swan." Regina jokes as she rests her head on the blonde's shoulder. "Thank you for telling me. I know it must have been hard for you."

"Oh gosh, _**hard** _ doesn't even begin to describe it." Emma replies, not realizing how much emphasis she put on the word 'hard'. She can feel Regina laughing at the context, her body convulsing with fits of giggles into Emma's side when Emma finally gets it. "Oh. I guess that was the wrong choice of words."

Regina pulls her head away from Emma, noticing her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. "Aww, come on, Emma. It was kind of funny."

"You know, I think I'm just so used to Ruby making 'hard' jokes that it didn't even phase me." Emma chuckles and Regina is trying her best to stifle a laugh because she can totally see Ruby making penis jokes at Emma's expense.

"I can see that." Regina says as her head once again finds its place on Emma's shoulder. Her hands dart out and grab Emma's, absentmindedly playing with the blonde's fingers. "So about that second date..."

"Oh, right!" Emma remembers that she and Regina had talked about a second date. "I, uh, I got nothing as of right now. I kind of wanted to tell you about my condition before letting anything progress... since it's, you know, important."

"It is very important, it is who you are. But, uhm, can I take the reigns on this one? I want to do something special for you." Regina asks as she interlocks her fingers with Emma's.

Emma can feel her heart explode into thousands of tiny butterflies at Regina's comment. Not only had Regina taken the news well, she wanted to do something for Emma. Something to prove to Emma that Regina thought she was special and Emma's heart swelled with adoration at the fact. "Uh, yeah. This one is all yours."

"Excellent!" Regina exclaims happily as she lifts her head off of Emma's shoulder. She glances slightly at the clock on the wall and realizes it's late. She sighs softly as she looks back at Emma. "I should get going. I have to work tomorrow."

Emma nods in understanding. She knew Regina had a busy work day planned, mainly because her mom may have mentioned something. She can sense the hesitation in Regina's voice, though, and she smiles widely at the fact that Regina didn't want to leave. But Emma knew it was for the best that the woman got her sleep. She sure as hell knows she needs it, too, after draining all of her energy trying to muster up the courage to tell Regina about her condition.

"I'll walk you to the door." Emma says sweetly as she stands from the couch. She extends her hand and Regina graciously takes it. She pulls Regina up from the couch, and continues holding her hand all the way to the door. Emma unlocks it, and moves Regina in front of her. "I'll see you soon."

Regina nods, leaning forward and capturing Emma's lips again. Emma hums into the kiss, feeling Regina's hand cup her cheek as she pulls her insanely close. Regina feels a spark surge between them and could swear she hears fireworks in the background of her mind blasting off. She pulls away, breathless and blushing. Her hand instantly moves to touch her still tingling lips as she shyly looks at Emma. "Yes, you will."

* * *

"I mean who could be so heartless!?" Regina blows up as she tells Kathryn what Lily had done to Emma. "It's one thing to leave someone because you no longer love them, but to leave them because of something they can't change!? Absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe Emma and my sister dated that- that DRAGON!"

"Dragon, huh? That's a new one."

"She's a fire breathing bitch! She destroys everything in her path. Let's not forget what she did to Zelena." Regina growls out, her blood boiling.

"Okay, can we just forget about Lily!? She's in the past. I want to talk about what's going on with you and Emma." Kathryn groans as she sips her wine.

Regina breathes heavily, calming down. She nods and sits next to Kathryn on the couch. "We're dating, I think."

"And that's something you want?" Kathryn questions.

"Why are you acting weird? You're the one who set me up!"

Kathryn sighs. "I know, I just want to make sure you're really okay with everything that has come to light."

"I mean, I fucking hate what Lily did to Emma because it's caused Emma to be really skeptical about everything, but I'm okay with everything else. I really like her, Kat." Regina admits.

"And you're cool with the whole... penis thing?" Kathryn cautiously asks and Regina shoots daggers at her best friend. "Don't give me that look, Regina. I'm not judging her at all! I just want you to understand what this could mean."

"And what could this possibly mean, Kathryn Abigail Nolan?" Regina huffs out.

"I just want you to understand that, you know, Emma could technically get you pregnant..." Kathryn says with the best of intentions.

Okay, so maybe Regina hadn't thought THAT far ahead and the thought kind of does scare her a bit. Not that she'd be scared of ever having a kid in the future, but Kathryn was just warning her of the potential risk. And Regina had no idea what Emma's stance on kids was, yet. They were barely dating as is. But she knew that whatever life had in store for them, they'd have to be prepared and take all the precautions to avoid that from happening too soon.

"Okay, so she can. I'll get put on birth control and if it ever comes to that, we'll use protection." Regina answers confidently. "I'm not going to run away from her because there's that risk. I like Emma."

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into."

"I understand, but her condition is not going to make me feel any differently towards her. It just means she so much more special." Regina smiles and Kathryn just rolls her eyes.

"How big is it?" Kathryn wonders out loud.

"I don't know! For god's sake, Kat. I didn't ask to see it!" Regina gasps, slapping her best friend on the arm. "Okay, well I may have seen a small preview when she was wearing sweatpants. If it was what I saw, then she seems rather well endowed. But you know what they say about grey sweatpants."

"Oh god, no. You cannot base her dick size off a dumb Twitter trend." Kathryn chuckles.

"Whatever. The size of her penis makes no difference to me, Kat. Because regardless of its size, I want to continue seeing Emma. She's sweet and understanding. I just want her to see herself the way I do."

"God, you're sappy. I almost regret setting you up." Kathryn gags.

"You brought this on yourself for trying to set me up in the first place." Regina retaliates.

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

* * *

Ruby stands in an aisle of the grocery store looking over all of the options. After Emma had excitedly told her that she told Regina about her condition and that the brunette had accepted her and wanted to continue seeing her, Ruby knew she'd have to help Emma take all the extra precautions.

Especially when it came to sex.

Ruby knew Emma was a little subpar in that department, mostly having been scared to sleep with anyone due to her penis, but now that she had Regina, Ruby expects them to be banging like rabbits soon enough. And Ruby wanted her best friend to be safe.

A clerk comes by and asks if she needs help and Ruby nods her head.

"Yeah, so my best friend is kind of embarrassed when it comes to buying condoms, so I'm like trying to figure out what the best option for them is." Ruby states bluntly and the clerks eyes widen. "Like okay, so how does this work? I'm confused about the sizes. What's the difference between the regular sized and the large sized?"

"Uh, well... most men go for the larger size when, uh, they're very well endowed. Above average in length and girth. The larger condom provides more comfort or something." The clerk replies nervously.

Ruby raises an eyebrow. She had no idea what 'average' was. And she had no idea if Emma was above average. She remembers asking Emma how big it was, once, out of curiosity, but as a lady-lover, Ruby had no idea what to make of the size Emma had shared with her.

"So, Ashley..." Ruby says as she reads the name tag on the clerk. "What exactly is an average sized penis?"

"Oh, uhm..." Ashley stutters out nervously. "Like 5 1/2 inches?"

"Interesting." Ruby ponders as she continues looking at the boxes of condoms. "Okay, so what's the difference in all of these types of condoms? Like what the hell does 'Bareskin' or 'Ecstasy' mean?"

Ashley stares uncomfortably around the store, hoping there were no other customers around to hear them talk about protection.

"Bareskin is a thinner condom, meaning that it'll 'feel like nothing's there'." Ashley uses air quotes. "And the Ecstasy condoms have some sort of stimulating lubricant that's supposed to make it feel better, I guess."

"Oh." Ruby says as she concentrates on the boxes. "They make textured condoms!? Flavored!? What the fuck is spermicidal lubricant? Oh my god, who knew condom shopping would be so fucking HARD!?"

Ashley stifles a laugh and Ruby notices her slip up. She chuckles before grabbing a random box from the shelf, knowing that trying to figure out all of the different kinds was just too much effort. Emma was just going to have to deal with whatever Ruby bought. "Thanks for your help, Ashley."

"Uh, yeah! No problem!"

* * *

"Thanks again for doing a shoot for us, Emma." Mary-Margaret says sweetly as Emma goes to leave her office.

"Of course, mom." Emma nods, placing her hand on the door handle. She presses down on it and the door slowly opens.

"Emma, wait!" Mary-Margaret calls out and Emma turns back around to face her mom. "Can we talk for a second?"

"Oh, uh, sure." Emma shrugs her shoulder, closing the door and sitting down across from her mom. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to know how you're doing..." Mary-Margaret states as she stares at her daughter. David had told her that Emma had come over freaking out about telling Regina about her condition. And Mary-Margaret was curious as to how it went, if Emma had even shared that part of her with Regina. Though, she's pretty sure she did or Emma wouldn't look so damn vibrant.

"I'm great!" Emma says honestly. "Things are... really looking up."

Mary-Margaret smiles as she watches Emma grin widely. She hadn't seen her daughter this happy in a long time, and now she was radiating with happiness. It absolutely melted her mother's heart.

"I'm so glad, Emma." Mary-Margaret replies, walking around her desk to hug Emma. "It makes me so happy to see you smiling genuinely for once."

Emma groans, laughing. She knew her mom could be somewhat embarrassing at some times, but she was being all mushy and to Emma, that was worse. "Okay, okay! Mom, stop hugging me!"

Mary-Margaret lets go of Emma, playfully pushing her shoulder. "Hey! You are never too old for me to hug you!"

Emma chuckles, rolling her eyes. "Whatever, mom."

"You love me." Mary-Margaret smiles and Emma nods.

"Yeah, yeah. I know I do." Emma replies as she stands up. "I need to go, though. Ruby wants to go to lunch or something."

"Alright, Emma. I'll see you later?" Mary-Margaret asks.

"Yeah, of course." Emma smiles as she opens the door. "I'll call you!"

Emma closes the door and starts speed walking down the hallway. She turns the corner sharply, bumping into someone. The person drops a bunch of paperwork in their hands and Emma is instantly on the ground picking it up, apologizing profusely.

"I'm so sorry." Emma spurts out as she picks up the papers. She looks up and sees Regina smiling at her goofily. "Oh, hey."

"Wow, Swan. Did think I'd run into you here." Regina jokes as Emma stands up and hands her the papers she knocked out of her hands.

"Running into people is what I do best." Emma replies, chuckling.

"I thought photography was what you did best." Regina smirks playfully.

"It's a close second." Emma smiles happily. "How are you?"

"I'm good, just about to go show a house. You?"

"I'm great! Just got done shooting a house with my mom. Now I got to go see what Ruby wants. Something about 'lunch and needing to talk'." Emma says while using air quotes. "Knowing Ruby it'll be something absolutely ridiculous."

"She definitely is an interesting one." Regina agrees. "Are you busy Friday night?"

"Oh, uh... let me check." Emma thinks while pulling out her phone. She opens the calendar which Ruby syncs all of their photoshoots and jobs to (she even goes as far as color coding them), and checks Friday. She had a shoot with Victoria's Secret that day, but notices she's done with work after that. "I am free after 4:00pm."

"Perfect!" Regina beams as she smiles widely at Emma. "Would you accompany me for our second date afterwards?"

Emma steps forward and grabs Regina's hands, giving them a light, reassuring squeeze. "I'd love to."

* * *

"Rubes!?" Emma yells through the condo when she gets home. "Hey, I'm sorry I'm late! I got caught up at the office."

She hears rustling from the bedroom and out comes Ruby wrapped in a bathrobe, hair wild and a surprised expression on her face. "Oh, hey Em!"

"Why do you look like you...? Oh god! I walked in on something didn't I?" Emma gags as she shields her eyes.

"Uh, sort of..." Ruby replies, biting her lip.

"THEN WHY DID YOU TELL ME TO COME HOME FOR LUNCH!?" Emma reprimands.

"Because I figured you would have run into Regina at the office and spend a good hour talking to her! I thought it would have bought me some time." Ruby defends.

Emma just shakes her head profusely. "Oh god, Rubes. That is not a definitive measurement for sexy time!"

"I'm sorry!" Ruby whines. "But can we like talk later when there's not someone in my bed, you know?"

"Got it. I'm just going to... I'll be at the gym." Emma rushes out before exiting the condo. She pulls her phone out and clicks on Regina's name as she gets into her car.

 **Emma:** I am scarred for life.

 _ **Regina:**_ _What happened!?_

 **E:** let's just say, I practically walked in on Ruby getting it on. I'm so embarrassed.

 _ **R:**_ _Didn't she say she wanted to have lunch with you though?_

 **E:** YES! But she figured I'd be like super late because I'd get held up talking to you at the office.

 _ **R:**_ _And she thought it would buy her some time. Haha, I got to hand it to her, she's ballsy._

 **E:** she's not the only one -laughing emoji-

 **E:** I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

 _ **R:**_ _Very funny, Swan. Ever look into a career as a comedian?_

 **E:** you know, I haven't. But I'd obviously be good at it ;)

 _ **R:**_ _Being full of yourself again? Haha_

 **E:** the word you used was 'cocky' ;)

 _ **R:**_ _And now I regret every moment of it_ -.-

Emma chuckles as she pulls up to the gym, reading Regina's text over again. She liked how easy it was for her to joke around about her condition with the brunette as if they had been doing so their whole lives. Emma's never felt so comfortable around a person she was interested in as much as she felt around Regina. There was something about her that made Emma feel so lightweight and free. She doesn't even think she felt this way with Lily, and she took up two years of Emma's time. Regina has only taken up two and a half weeks.

"Damn." Emma mutters out as she texts Regina letting her know she was going to work out. Regina just replies with a simple 'have fun' with a winky face, and Emma can feel the heat spreading throughout her body. She definitely needed to cool down.

"Oh boy, do I have it bad."

* * *

 **Next chapter = second date!  
Also, I am so glad I brought back Ruby and her humor. She's always up to something ;)**


	8. The Second Date

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since my last update, but I hope I made it up with a 4.2k word count. Work's been absolutely insane, and then I went and sprained my ankle, so there's that. I figured that while I'm out and recovering that I would update for you!**

 **I hope you enjoy the next chapter!  
**

 **Also, I do not own OUAT or The Only Exception by Paramore**

* * *

 _Chapter 8 - The Second Date_

Friday rolled around a lot faster than Regina had thought and she could feel her nerves rise as she walks into the building. Everything had gone according to plan, except for one small factor: it was 4:30 and Emma was still working. She had texted Regina saying that she was running behind and to just meet her inside of the studio she was at.

Regina strolls through the hallway, looking for the set room Emma had told her she was in. She hears camera shutters from behind the door and a bunch of people chattering. She pushes the door open and sees Emma standing behind a tripod with half naked models in front of a white screen and she feels a slight pang of jealousy as Emma directs where they're needing to be.

Emma got to spend time with outrageously beautiful models, Victoria's Secret models at that, and Regina felt inferior to them. Not that she meant to, it just happened. Regina shakes her thoughts as she hears an agent tell the models they were done and to wrap up. She watches as Emma disassembles her tripod and camera, delicately placing it a bag. She shakes a few hands of models, and Regina cringes when she sees one run her hand up Emma's exposed, toned bicep. They're talking in light conversation and Regina has to stop herself from walking over there and giving the model a piece of her mind. She and Emma weren't exclusive. Sure, they were kind of dating and that didn't stop Emma from talking to other people, but Regina also didn't want Emma to think she was the extremely jealous type. She usually wasn't, in fact.

But when it came to Emma, Regina's not too sure what kind of person she was anymore. She felt things for the blonde that she never had, and it sort of scared her.

She's pulled out of her thoughts when she sees that Emma has spotted her. Emma excuses herself from the model, grabbing her equipment before rushing over to the brunette.

"Hey." Emma smiles as she leans in to give Regina a one-armed hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry this ran late. I hope it didn't ruin anything."

"It's okay." Regina returns the smile, backing away shyly. "I didn't know you shot for Victoria's Secret."

"It was an offer I couldn't pass up." Emma says, shrugging her shoulders. She senses a hint of envy or jealousy (she's not sure which) in Regina and smirks. "Wait, are you jealous?"

"That's ridiculous." Regina chuckles, trying to play it off.

"I'm not hearing a 'no'." Emma teases, Regina playfully pushing her shoulder. "You shouldn't be, though."

"Oh yeah?" Regina asks, raising her eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"They may be attractive, but I've only got eyes for you." Emma replies with a dorky smile on her face and Regina melts right then and there. "That was really lame. I can do better than that."

"No, it was really sweet." Regina smiles as she nods her head towards the door. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's do this."

* * *

Ruby walks into Granny's diner at the end of her day and sits at the bar. She orders her food and taps her fingers on the counter as she waits for her food. She pulls out her phone and frowns when she notices Emma hadn't responded to her text yet. She had asked the blonde if they could hang out because she feels like it has been forever since she's seen her roommate for more than ten minutes. In reality, it had only been a few days, but Ruby really missed her.

She sighs, defeated, when she receives a response from Emma saying she was going out with Regina later and that they'll hang out another day. She should have known her best friend had plans when Emma had asked her to drop her off at work, but didn't necessarily say that she needed to be picked up. Ruby shrugs and sets her phone down on the counter as she continues waiting for her food.

"Hey, Ruby." A voice says from behind her. Ruby turns around and sees Kathryn standing there with a redhead.

"Oh, hey Kathryn. What's up?" Ruby asks with a halfhearted smile.

"Just picking up food." Kathryn shrugs. "This is Zelena. Zelena, this is Ruby. She's the best friend of Emma, the girl Regina's dating."

Ruby cringes at the name. She's heard it before when Emma told her about what happened with Lily and again when Regina had told Ruby a similar story when she was at their condo the other day.

"Hi, it's so nice to meet you! Any friend of the woman who stole my sister's attention is cool in my book." Zelena smiles, extending her hand for Ruby to shake, but Ruby just stares at her dumbfounded.

Ruby raises her eyebrows as she glances at Kathryn. "She doesn't know, does she?"

"Know what, darling?" Zelena asks retracting her hand, also staring at Kathryn who is looking a whole lot like she got caught.

"It's not my place to tell her..." Kathryn replies, biting her lip. "I figured Regina would have."

"I'm so confused!" Zelena whines, stomping her foot. "What is going on here? What hasn't my sister told me?"

Ruby stares at Kathryn expectantly, hoping the blonde will shed some light on the situation, but she just stands there continuing to chew on her lower lip.

"Your sister is dating your girlfriend's ex." Ruby says through gritted teeth. "You know, the one whose heart you broke when you slept with Lily?"

Zelena's mouth gapes open as she gasps loudly. "Emma..."

"Yeah, Emma. Poor, sweet, innocent Emma who didn't deserve what you and that bitch did to her." Ruby growls.

"I-I'm sorry. But it's not what you think." Zelena defends.

"Oh yeah? Then what was it? How can you even say that?" Ruby says, her voice laced with disbelief.

"Look, at first I didn't know, okay?" Zelena exclaims distraughtly. "Lily was manipulative and when I met her, I thought- she told me she wasn't dating anyone. I didn't think I was hurting anyone. She didn't tell me until later and it was already too late. I was already in love with her and I... I'm sorry, okay? I was stupid and in love, and I hurt someone in the process. But it wasn't intentional."

"Why should I believe you?" Ruby interrogates after hearing Zelena's excuses for what had happened to Emma.

"I suppose you have no reason to." Zelena shrugs. "But I mean it from the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry for what I did to Emma. I wish Regina would have told me."

"She probably didn't think you'd be so understanding." Kathryn weighs in. "Regina found out Sunday that Emma had dated Lily and that you were the one... you know. Maybe she thought that you didn't like Emma or something."

"That's not true. I don't hate Emma. I don't even know her. I was just a pawn in Lily's way out of a relationship." Zelena answers honestly. "I had no idea what kind of damaged I caused her. But I'm not the bad guy here, I promise."

"I still don't trust you." Ruby glares, crossing her arms.

"I suppose that's fair." Zelena sighs as Granny brings out Ruby's food and a brown paper bag for Kathryn. "But really, I am sorry. I hope you and Emma can forgive me."

"We'll see."

* * *

"I still don't know why you feel the need to blindfold me." Emma says as they stand outside of Regina's car while Regina places a blindfold over Emma's eyes. "I already know we're at Redondo Beach."

"Because we have stopped at the beach, but where our date is being held is in a different location." Regina smirks as she ties the blindfold. She stands behind Emma and places her hands on her shoulders, guiding the blonde through the beach.

"I mean, if this is your way of being kinky, all you had to do was tell me." Emma jokes as they continue walking slowly. The unevenness of the sand causing Emma to step with caution.

"Oh hush." Regina plays back. "And there's a step in front of you."

Emma listens, but her mind doesn't catch up and she slams the toe of her shoe into the wooden step. "Oof. Ow!"

"I tried warning you." Regina rolls her eyes as she leads Emma up the stairs.

"I'm not good without my eyes! Hell, I'm clumsy with them." Emma defends as she feels the warped wood of the pier under her feet. She wonders where Regina is taking her, but she knows it's a secret.

"So, you shared something special with me, and while I don't have something equally as special about me, I wanted to show you something about me." Regina states as they stop in front of a boat. "Watch your step."

Emma listens this time and carefully steps onto the boat that gently rocking in the ocean. "Where are we? Why are we moving?"

"Patience, Swan." Regina continues leading Emma until they reach a few seats on the upper deck of the boat. She sits Emma down and her hand starts to untie the blindfold. "When I was younger, my father taught me how to sail."

The blindfold is shed and Emma's met with the sight of the ocean, the sunset, and Regina, and she had never seen anything more breathtaking.

"I haven't been on a boat since he died, but... I figured I'd face my fears and take you around the ocean." Regina answers honestly.

"This is so beautiful." Emma muses as she watches Regina unties the mooring lines and pushes the boat away from the dock. She then stands in a tiny outdoor cockpit and grabs a hold on the helm, steering them away from the dock and into deeper waters. The tide was low enough that they didn't experience too much hassle from the waves and for that, Regina was thankful. It had been years since she's been on a boat, let alone drive one, and Regina knew her nerves would have only worsened if they experienced worse conditions.

Emma watches her in awe as they cruise through the ocean until Regina finds a spot where the current was gentle enough to not rock the boat outrageously. She deploys the anchor and makes her way back over to Emma. She sits next to the blonde and rests her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"I'm sorry this isn't much, but you shared something with me, so I wanted to do the same." Regina says softly as she grabs a hold of Emma's hand.

"It's perfect." Emma replies with a smile, and it really was. Her penis was something important about her and sailing was something that was important to Regina. Emma felt as though it was a rather fair trade. "You said you haven't been on a boat since your father died... May I ask why?"

Regina sighs, nodding her head against Emma's shoulder. "Yeah. He died in a boating accident. He went out on a stormy night and our boat couldn't handle the weather. It capsized. My father was found a few days later by a couple of fishermen, and well... he had drowned. It made me absolutely terrified to step on a boat again."

"And yet, here you are... on a boat. Are you okay?"

"I am. I told you I wanted to share something with you and face my fears, and this is it." Regina replies as she snuggles closer to Emma. "It's just... with you, I feel like I can do anything. Hell, I never thought I'd step foot on a boat again, but I don't know... you were so brave when telling me about your condition and you just inspired me, I guess. I don't know how to word it but-"

Emma cuts Regina's ranting off with a soft kiss. Not that she didn't enjoy hearing Regina being so damn cute and considerate, but she knew the brunette was nervous and she wanted to show her that this seriously was a perfect second date. It was special, and the reasoning and meaning behind it was not only sentimental on a personal level for Regina, but it was sentimental to Emma that Regina would willing get on a boat which she was terrified of to show Emma a piece of who she was.

It made Emma's heart damn near explode.

"Sorry." Regina blushes as she pulls away from the kiss. "I get like that when I'm nervous."

"It's okay." Emma says, flashing her infamous, goofy smile. "Like I said, it's perfect. And it means a lot to me that you did this for me."

"The date's not over yet, Swan." Regina smirks as she gets up. "Wait here."

She runs below deck where Kathryn had placed food a few minutes prior to their arrival at the beach. She grabs the bag, two flutes, and a bottle of champagne before heading back above deck.

"So, I'm hoping this is still somewhat warm." Regina says as she reaches Emma, handing her a champagne flute. "And I hope you like it. It's from a diner called-"

"Granny's!" Emma answers as she sees the logo on the bag. "I love that place. Ruby's grandma owns it. She makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches."

"Well, it's a good thing because that's what I ordered." Regina replies and Emma's eyes light up like a kid who got a puppy for Christmas.

"No way! You're the best!" Emma practically shrieks as Regina hands her the sandwich. "How did you even get this on the boat?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I had minions?" Regina jokes as she grabs her own and sits down next to Emma.

"In other words, Kathryn?" Emma chuckles and Regina nods her head.

"Yep."

* * *

Their date had gone well. They ate, drank, and shared stories about themselves (with a healthy handful of embarrassing stories of their best friends), when Regina noticed it was getting late and they should probably head back to shore. She stands up and goes to take a step towards the cockpit when a strong wave hits the boat and throws her backwards. She lands on top of Emma, who instinctively wraps her arms around Regina's waist, steadying her.

Their bodies were pressed together as their eyes meet; forest green exploring chocolate brown. Emma can feel her breathing hitch she stares at Regina, her black hair glistening in the moonlight. Neither of them had moved, Regina not wanting to leave the safety of Emma's arms, and Emma just soaking in the image in front of her. This beautiful woman who had gone through all of the hoops to prove to Emma that she was worth it, who faced one of her biggest fears to show Emma something special.

Emma smiles in adoration as her hands draw circles on the small of Regina's back. Regina's arms are in front of her, gently pressing against Emma's chest. She matches the blonde's smile before leaning down and pressing her lips against Emma's thin ones. Emma sighs in content when she feels Regina's hand brush against her cheek, pulling her closer.

Their lips part and Emma can feel Regina's tongue swipe across her lower lip, begging for entrance. Emma grants access and their tongues dance around each other as Regina moves to straddle Emma's hips in search of a more comfortable position. This movement, however, causes a spark in Emma and she can feel herself already growing erect.

To say she's shocked is an understatement. She's also damn near impressed. It usually took a lot more time, from her experience, to get even slightly hard. And yet, Regina is causing this in her and they've only been kissing for a few minutes maybe.

But then it hits her. They hadn't talked about sex at all and Emma doesn't want to assume that this is where that could be leading to. Nor did Emma know what would be an appropriate amount of time before they had sex. Was it too soon? Surely, it was, right?

Emma pulls away, breathing hard as she looks up at Regina. "Hey."

"Hey back." Regina smiles as she climbs off of Emma's lap, but not before noticing the semi-erect member that had been pressing into her. She blushes, clearing her throat. "We should get going."

Emma nods as Regina heads to the cockpit. She hears the motor start lifting the anchor off the ocean floor and she looks around, yanking on the collar of her shirt in an attempt to cool down. The cool, ocean breeze helps as they make their way back to the pier and Emma wonders how the hell she got so lucky. Regina's hair is blowing in the wind again, and Emma can't help but admire her in the moonlight. She really wishes she had her camera.

"I can feel you staring." Regina says playfully as she keeps her eyes on the ocean.

Emma shrugs her shoulder, smiling a dorky smile as she continues looking at Regina. She gets up from the seat and carefully makes her way across the deck to where Regina was standing. "It's a nice view."

Regina slows the boat down and turns her neck to look at Emma who was holding on to a bar with that same goofy face that she always has on. Regina smiles and places her hand on Emma's cheek, turning it to face the ocean.

"We have to keep an eye out for other boats." Regina half-whispers as she returns to navigating the boat back to the pier. "As much as I'd love to stare at you, I'd really like to stay alive."

"Staying alive is key." Emma nods as she keeps her eyes on the waves. She leans over and wraps her left arm around Regina's waist as the beach comes back into sight, the city lights shining bright behind the sand. She can feel Regina sink into her touch, and she smiles knowing that she had the same effect on Regina that the brunette had on her. "I mean, who else would I get to date me?"

It's a joke and Regina knows that due to the playful tone in Emma's voice, but she wonders if the blonde had issues with dating people in the past because of her condition. And that thought causes her heart to kind of break for Emma. That she was always scared of revealing her true self to people. Regina could see it in her eyes the night that Emma broke the news. Emma feared rejection, she knew that look all too well.

She was just glad that Emma had told her, that Emma had trusted her with that secret. It was a huge step for Emma, and a step forward in their blossoming relationship. And Regina was willing to do whatever it took to prove to Emma day in and day out that she was the most intriguing and special person she has ever met.

"You know, I don't think I'd want you dating anyone else." Regina lets her jealous tongue slip, and Emma raises an eyebrow. It was almost a confirmation that they were, in fact, dating. They hadn't really talked about what they were doing, but Emma knew that she wanted to date Regina. And it's obvious that Regina wanted the same thing.

"Oh yeah?" Emma whispers as she leans closer to Regina whose skin was covered in goosebumps as Emma's breath ghosts over her ear. "Why not?"

Regina just eyes Emma out of the corner of her eye and smirks as she pulls the boat into the pier and kills the engine.

"Because then I'd have to date someone else, and I'll probably be murdered by a catfish." Regina chuckles and Emma just shakes her head, laughing at the brunette's response.

Emma thought it was absolutely crazy how they could fall into such playful and funny banter with each other, while still expressing their feelings. It was a nice break from being way too serious and constantly wondering if you had said or done something wrong. Everything was easy with Regina, and Emma was loving every moment of it.

"I'll do my best to never let that happen." Emma smiles proudly as Regina docks the boat and ties it down. She helps the brunette back up and they exit the vessel, making their way back to Regina's car. "At least I wasn't a catfish."

"You weren't, were you?" Regina smiles as they get in the car and start heading towards Emma's place since the blonde had Ruby drop her off at the studio.

"Nope." Emma says as she grabs Regina's hand that was still sitting on the gear shifter and laces their fingers together.

Regina sighs in content when she feels Emma's thumb brushing over her own, a sense of comfort washing over her. She would never get used to how Emma makes her feel; shy, vulnerable, adored. She couldn't pin point it, but Regina knew she had it bad for the blonde who was sitting next to her, singing along to a song on the radio.

 _ **'Cause I've always lived like this,  
**_ _ **Keeping a comfortable distance.  
**_ _ **And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness.  
**_ _ **Because none of it was ever worth the risk.**_

 _ **But you are the only exception.  
**_ _ **You are the only exception.  
**_ _ **You are the only exception.  
**_ _ **You are the only exception.**_

"YOOOOUUU ARE THE ONLY EXCEPTIOOON!" Emma randomly busts out, getting really into the song. She uses her spare hand to air guitar the solo and Regina keeps looking at her out of the corner of her eye, smiling widely while chuckling at her. Emma flashes a toothy grin at Regina, her hand still gripping Regina's tightly.

"You feel some type of way, Emma?" Regina jokes as they pull up to Emma's building.

"Yeah, tired." Emma replies as she yawns loudly, looking out the window at her condo. She turns her attention back to Regina. "Thank you again for the second date. It definitely topped mine."

"Well, sometimes I like being on top." Regina says mindlessly, not even realizing how sexual it sounded until Emma's laughing uncontrollably in her front seat.

"I'll keep that in mind." Emma chuckles as she leans forward and kisses Regina lightly on the lips. "See you soon?"

"I don't know, Swan. You make so many jokes at my expense." Regina teases as Emma opens the car door with a puppy dog look on her face. "Of course, I'll see you soon."

"Good." Emma smiles as she swings her legs out of the car, but she doesn't leave. She keeps her eyes locked on Regina who's staring at her in a way that Emma can't even describe. She slowly inches out of the car, but feels Regina's hand reach out and brush against her arm. In an instant, Emma's body is back in the car, lips against Regina's. They're leaning uncomfortably over the center console of the car, but neither of them care as their lips and tongues dance together. Emma can feel Regina's hand against her cheek, pulling her closer and it takes all of Emma's willpower not to climb over the center console and on top of Regina.

She can feel herself once again start growing erect and she knows they need to stop before something embarrassing happens. She was definitely going to need to learn self-control when it came to all things Regina.

Emma pulls away, breathing hard as her eyes flutter open, revealing the disheveled hair of Regina. Emma smiles widely at how naturally beautiful Regina looks as she catches her breath. "Damn, Mills. If you wanted to jump me, you could have just asked."

"Very funny, Swan. But even I know better than to get it on in a public parking lot." Regina smirks, sending a wink Emma's way. "Just figured you'd want something to remember me by."

"You did a damn good job." Emma says, feeling slightly self-conscious at the fact that she had a very noticeable hard on. "I should get going though."

Regina nods and Emma leans forward one last time and pecks Regina's lips before getting out of the car. She waves goodbye as she rushes towards her condo, immediately making her way to the bathroom. She looks down and groans, wishing that she could have stopped herself from getting as rock hard as she currently was. But then again, it's Regina. She can't help herself around Regina at all, and it was showing.

"Now, to get rid of you." Emma huffs out as she contemplates how to get rid of her erection. On one hand, she could just masturbate and get it over with, but she and Regina haven't even reached second base yet, and Emma's slightly weirded out by the thought of trying to picture Regina in a sexual nature. At least at this point in time. Emma glances around her bathroom before her eyes land on what she's looking for and sighs in defeat.

"Cold shower it is."

* * *

 **BAM. Second date officially a success. Any feel some type of way? ;)  
I promise it won't be that long until my next update. (And I may be working on another side story just so everyone can get their SwanQueen fill from me... Maybe... You heard nothing...)**


	9. If I'm Lucky

**Good (Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Night) my wonderful, amazing readers. I am SO TERRIBLY sorry that it took me so fucking long to update this. I got busier than I thought I would with work and still dealing with my sprained ankle. I barely had time to write only getting like 30 minutes a day to get some ideas down.**

 **I hope this chapter makes up for the almost month long wait! Thank you all for sticking with me :)**

 **Also, huge thanks to Veronica1986 (ve_swanmills) for the awesome cover photo! All credit goes to her**

* * *

 _Chapter 9 - If I'm Lucky_

Emma walks into her kitchen the next morning to see Ruby sitting at the kitchen table, reading over some random paper manual, mumbling to herself.

"Pinch the tip of the condom and then slowly roll it down the shaft." Ruby repeats from the instructions she was reading, not even realizing that Emma was in the room.

"Hey Rubes," Emma yawns as she sits down at the kitchen table. "What're you reading?"

"Oh, instructions!" Ruby exclaims when she notices Emma is up. "I wanted to like... educate you!"

"Educate me on what?" Emma raises her eyebrow, giving Ruby a questionable look.

"Sex!" Ruby smiles as she waves a packet of condoms around in the air. Emma's face immediately turns red, her eyes practically bulging out of her skull. "More specifically, condoms!"

Ruby grabs the box of Trojans and waves it in the air. "I got these for you! I figured we could like help you practice."

"I, uh... you don't need to." Emma stutters out, caught off guard.

"Why not?" Ruby pouts, sticking her lower lip out. "You need to be safe."

"I, wow, uh... I know how to use them, Ruby. It's not like I've never had sex before..." Emma playfully rolls her eyes, but Ruby looks so damn sad, she kind of feels bad.

"But I bought bananas to practice on." Ruby whines, crossing her arms.

"Rubes, dude. It's okay!" Emma tries to reassure. She really does appreciate the gesture, but she's also slightly embarrassed. "I mean, thank you, for probably making some poor clerk at the grocery store uncomfortable and getting me these, but uh- I'm not... Regina and I aren't there yet."

"You're not!?" Ruby's demeanor suddenly changes. "Jesus, Swan. Are you waiting for marriage, first?"

"No!" Emma spits out quickly. "No, I just... we haven't talked about it. It's no big deal."

"It's been like a month, Emma. You guys haven't even gotten like close?"

"I mean, like... she kind of made me hard last night." Emma shrugs. "But I just want to make sure it's like the right moment, you know?"

"Aww, you're so cheesy, Swan." Ruby teases and Emma just blushes and smiles like a dork.

Ruby wasn't wrong, though. Emma had become super cheesy when it came to Regina. And the weird thing to her was that she never actually planned on meeting the woman. But she had, and Emma knows in her heart that it was one of the best things that ever happened to her.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Emma rolls her eyes before turning her attention back to the box of condoms Ruby had gotten for her. "What the hell is a Magnum Bareskin?"

"THANK YOU!" Ruby practically yells. "They have so many random types of these things that I just took one off the shelf. Apparently those are supposed to feel like nothing's there."

Emma picks up the box and reads the back, "The thinnest Magnum condom... Larger than standard latex condom for extra comfort..."

"Ruby, why didn't you just get like normal sized condoms?" Emma raises her eyebrow.

"Because according to Ashley at the store, and the size you gave me when we first moved in together, you're above average. So like... Magnum!" Ruby justifies.

"Oh man. Okay, so uhm, I've only ever used like regular ones..." Emma bites her lower lip. "I don't even know if these would fit."

"But you told me you're like..." Ruby pauses.

"7 inches, yeah. But regular condoms are still like 7 1/2 inches in length."

"They ARE!?" Ruby exclaims loudly. "Then what's the difference?"

"I don't know, but I guess there's only one way to find out." Emma shrugs. "Try one on at some point."

"You're going to waste a condom just to try it on?"

"You were literally going to use them on bananas!" Emma jokes and Ruby just shrugs.

"Fair enough."

* * *

Regina wakes up way later than she's used to on any given day. When she arrived home last night after her date with Emma, she had noticed that Kathryn was already asleep, which saddened her because she really wanted to tell her about her date. She takes little time getting ready for the day before making her way towards her kitchen.

"Kathryn? I have to tell you about this-" Regina stops mid-sentence when she sees that her sister is sitting at her kitchen table. "Z?"

"How could you not tell me that you were dating Emma Swan?" Zelena asks sadly as she stares her sister down.

"I-" Regina sighs. "I was going to, Z."

"I nearly got threatened by her best friend yesterday. I had to find out from a third party!" Zelena whines loudly and Regina feels really bad that she had left her sister out. "Why couldn't you just tell me?"

"It's complicated, Zelena." Regina says as she sits down, grabbing her sister's hand. "Look, I just... I didn't want to cause unnecessary drama. I wanted to establish what Emma and I were doing before I told you. I'm sorry."

"I just feel so left out. Kathryn knew. And I know that you were probably worried because of what happened with Lily, but you know me better than that. I support you in whatever decisions you make. It hurt, Regina." Zelena replies, looking down at the table.

Regina nods in understanding as she draws in a deep breath. "I know, it just... it took us both by surprise, you know? She's already been super understanding about everything regarding you and Lily, and I just didn't want to mess that up. I really, really like her."

"Oh my god, you're blushing!" Zelena exclaims, almost forgetting that she was slightly upset with Regina. "Aww, that is so cuuuute!"

Regina rolls her eyes and playfully slaps her sisters hand. She leans back in the chair and rubs her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Shut up, Z." Regina says trying to play it off, but the beaming smile on her face at the mere thought of Emma was making her fail miserably.

"No! My baby sister is actually happy!" Zelena squeals before gasping. "WAIT! Did you guys sleep together? Did you finally get laid? Is that why you're glowing?"

Regina's eyes grow wide and she almost chokes on her own spit.

"No!" She rushes out quickly. "I mean, no... we haven't like... you know... yet."

"Well, jeez. What are you waiting for? A freaking proposal? Marriage?" Zelena scoffs. "Please tell me you didn't become some crazy, extremely religious, born again Christian who's abstaining from sex until marriage."

"Nooooo." Regina groans. "It's not like that. I just want to take thing slow this time around. I want it to be the right time."

"You're waiting until you figure out if you love her or not, aren't you?" Zelena wiggles her eyebrows.

"Okay, now you're just being weird." Regina replies. "We've only been dating for a few weeks. We're not even IN a relationship."

"And yet, you're still radiating like the brightest star in the sky." Zelena sing-songs. "And you guys haven't even slept together."

"You're reading into this way too much." Regina mutters, wishing Zelena would just leave it alone for now.

She really couldn't say if Zelena was right or wrong. Everything had changed ever since Emma came into her life. Regina recalls the instance of the spark that set a wildfire of passion and emotion to engulf her. The moment that she knew she was falling hard for Emma. She wouldn't call it love, but it something edging close without so much as a warning. And that absolutely scared her. How she could seemingly feel this way in so little time.

"Well, you're not denying it." Zelena says as she smiles widely at Regina.

"And I'm not confirming it, either." Regina shakes her head.

"Come on, baby sis! Love at first sight exists." Zelena pushes.

"I don't love her." Regina states firmly.

"Yet." Zelena mumbles, rolling her eyes at her sister. "But you will. I can see it in your eyes."

"Don't be so sure, Zelena." Regina says defensively. And she's not too sure why she's fighting so much against what Zelena is saying. Maybe it's because Regina didn't believe in love, not after Mal. It was difficult for her to even think of the concept of love and now, Zelena's making some pretty valid points and Regina can't help but wonder if she's at the stage with Emma.

"Seriously, Regina. What are you so afraid of?" Zelena asks.

"I don't know." Regina shrugs. "It's just like- I've never felt this way before, not even with Mal. And it scares me because if I already feel this strongly about Emma right now, what happens if we actually pursue a relationship? That gives her the power to completely break my heart."

"Well, baby sis, you're right there. But you're forgetting one little thing." Zelena smiles as Regina looks at her expectantly. "It may give her the power to break your heart, but you have to trust her to not do so. Love is a two way street, R."

"I guess you're right." Regina sighs as she plays with her phone. "Maybe I should stop running away from my feelings."

"So what are you waiting for? Go tell her, you idiot!"

* * *

"So anyway, she takes me on this boat and tells me about how she hadn't been on one since her father died, but she wanted to face her fears and show me something special about her. It was like the sweetest thing ever." Emma gushes as she tells Ruby and Ariel about her date with Regina.

"Oh my gooood!" Ariel squeals happily. "That's so fucking adorable!"

Emma flashes a cheesy as she blushes and ducks her head. "I just, man, I can't believe things are going so well. I honestly never expected anything to come of all of this."

"You're welcome." Ruby chuckles as she wiggles her eyebrows.

"Hey! I helped!" Ariel cuts in. "I wrote her profile because you couldn't come up with something less boring!"

"It's not my fault!" Ruby exclaims, pushing her red headed friend on the shoulder. "I was the one who found Regina."

"And I was the one who message her first!" Ariel whines. "You can't take all the credit!"

Emma bursts out in laughter as her friends banter back and forth about who did what to get Emma and Regina together.

"Guys, guys! Stop!" Emma shakes her head while her laughter dies down. "Thank you, both of you, for getting my head out of my ass and introducing me to Regina."

"You're welcome!" They say in unison.

Emma's phone vibrates in her pocket and she checks on her friends who are wrapped up in another conversation. She grabs her phone and looks at the screen, her smiling widening when she sees a text from Regina on the screen.

 _ **Regina:**_ _Hey :) what are you up to?_

 **Emma:** not much, just at Granny's with Rubes and Ariel. You?

 _ **Regina:**_ _out with Z and Kat at The Rabbit Hole. Do you guys want to join us?_

Emma looks up from her phone at her friends who have randomly started arguing over something. What? Emma has no clue.

"What? That's not possible!" Ariel exclaims loudly.

"Dude, I'm not even joking. Watch a nature documentary or something." Ruby rolls her eyes at the redhead.

"I just- no. You're telling me that SWANS can be GAY?"

"Well yeah," Ruby chuckles, nodding her head towards Emma. "Look at Emma."

"HEY!" Emma interjects.

"Come on, Em!" Ariel laughs uncontrollably. "It was funny."

"You both suck." Emma huffs out when her phone vibrates again.

 _ **Regina:** I mean, you don't have to. I totally didn't think that through with the whole Zelena being with us thing, I'm sorry... I understand if it's way too soon to be around my sister._

"Do you guys want to go out?" Emma asks Ruby and Ariel.

"Sure!" They reply. "Where?"

"Some bar called The Rabbit Hole. Regina's there with Kathryn and her sister. They invited us." Emma shrugs her shoulders.

"Is that a good idea, Emma?" Ariel asks, quirking up an eyebrow. "The last time you saw Zelena, you punched a picture frame and had to get stitches."

"Yeah, and I still don't trust her." Ruby narrows her eyes.

"Both fair arguments," Emma starts out, "but if I'm lucky, and Regina and I keep seeing each other, I'm going to have to get along with her sister. Zelena is a big part of Regina's life and I am not going to make her choose between the two of us. It's not fair to anyone to act like that over something that's in the past."

"Aww. That was cute." Ariel squeals.

"And you also have a point, Emma." Ruby adds. "We may not like Zelena, but we do have to be civil."

"Can we just talk about how cute it is for a second?" Ariel butts in. "Emma is putting her past with Zelena to the side for Regina. It's absolutely adorable!"

"Yeah, Swan. You need to lock that down, like now!" Ruby smiles widely. "I mean, I personally wouldn't do anything for anyone like you're doing for Regina unless I loved them."

Ariel gasps excitedly. "Oh my god! Emma, do you love her?"

Emma shrugs her shoulders. She really didn't know the answer to that question. Yes, she really, REALLY liked Regina. Enough so that she's willing to forgive Zelena for being a part of her broken heart in the first place. She didn't want to lose Regina, this much she knew to be true. Regina was something else and Emma knew that somewhere in her heart, her feelings for the brunette were strong. It could be love, but Emma wasn't willing to admit that just yet.

"I don't think so. Not yet, anyway." Emma replies, causing Ariel's face to fall. "But I think if we continue dating, it'll happen eventually."

This makes Ariel light back up at the comment. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Me too, Emma." Ruby smiles as her and Ariel hug their best friend. "I'm glad you are finally happy."

"Now, text her back and tell her we'll be there."

* * *

Regina's standing in a corner of the Rabbit Hole, eyeing the door every few seconds to see if Emma and her friends have arrived. She was relieved (and surprised) when Emma texted her back saying they were coming. She knew the time would come when Emma and Zelena would have to see each other, and she shuddered at the thought of the tension that could potentially spark when that happened. But Emma's response had put her at ease, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

She opens her phone up and re-reads the text message as she waits for the blonde to arrive.

 **Emma:** of course we'll join you! I've actually been meaning to talk you about something in regards to your sister, and it would be best if she was there to hear it. It's not bad, I promise! We'll be on our way soon.

Regina smiles at the text, seeing the typing bubbles appear. She patiently waits to see what Emma was typing when another message comes through.

 **Emma:** Hey! Sorry we're running late. Ruby accidentally put in the wrong destination address and we got lost. :) can't wait to see you.

 _ **Regina:**_ _it's perfectly okay! Just let me know when you'll be here._

"I'm here." Regina hears Emma's voice say. She lifts her head and is instantly met with the dorkiest smile she had ever seen Emma show.

"Hey." Regina beams as she leans forward and kisses Emma on the lips. "Glad you made it."

"Me, too." Emma replies, eyeing the bar. "Drinks?"

"Of course." Regina grabs a hold of Emma's hand as they walk towards the bar where Ariel and Ruby were.

"Here's your beer, Swan." Ruby turns around to hand Emma the drink. "Hey, Regina!"

"Hi!" Regina waves before looking at the redhead. "I don't think we properly met, before. I'm Regina."

"Ariel. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Ariel nods her head. "Can we get you a drink?"

"Sure, thank you."

"Can we get another AMF, please?" Ariel asks the bartender who winks at her before proceeding to make the beverage. "Where's the rest of your group?"

"They're battling it out in billiards." Regina chuckles. "We can go join them soon."

"Cool." Ariel says, handing Regina her drink.

Regina takes a sip and instantly cringes. "God, what is in this?"

"Vodka, gin, rum, tequila, blue curaçao, sweet and sour, and a splash of 7-up." Ariel counts on her fingers.

"Dear lord, that's a strong drink."

"I can get you something else if you'd like, babe." Emma offers and Regina instantly melts at the comment. She knows Emma doesn't notice that she had said it, but Regina definitely did. It made her heart swell.

"Aw, no, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it to be so strong." Regina says sweetly. "You don't have to get me another drink."

"Are you sure? I don't mind." Emma asks again.

"Positive. Thank you, though."

"Of course." Emma flashes her infamous smile.

They're so caught up in their own little world that they don't realize that Zelena, Kathryn, Ruby, and Ariel were all staring at them. It isn't until someone clears their throat that they break eye contact and both turn red.

"Ah- uh... sorry." Emma apologizes as they turn to their friends. "Kathryn, it's nice to see you again."

"You, too!" Kathryn says loudly over the music. "So I totally just kicked Z's ass in pool. Who's next?"

"I'll go!" Ruby yells, grabbing Ariel's arm and pushing Kathryn towards the billiards table, leaving the other three behind.

Emma stands there awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. She looks at Regina before glancing over at her sister who was also sporting the same uncomfortable look.

"I-" Emma pauses as she musters up the courage to speak. "I wanted to talk with you, Zelena."

Shocked, Zelena nods. "Okay. Uhm, what about Regina?"

"She needs to be there as well."

Regina presses her lips in a small smile and nods her head. They move to a quieter corner in the bar and sit down.

"So, this is awkward, I think we're both aware of that. But... I want to put whatever happened in our past behind us." Emma takes in a deep breath and musters up the courage to finish her 'talk'. "Yes, I was extremely hurt at what had transpired with the whole Lily thing and I wanted to hate you so much. But Ruby told me that you were completely unaware that I even existed until it was too late. And then, it all made sense. Lily was that kind of person, manipulative and greedy. Always getting what she wanted regardless of the consequence. I can't rightfully be mad at you for following your heart because that's what I'm doing now."

Emma then turns and makes eye contact with Regina. "I'm not the best at relationships. I know I'll probably get scared and I'm still working on the fact that I'm kind of dorky and weird, but... Regina, I- I like you so much and I mean, it's like totally terrifying and stuff."

Regina wipes the stray tear streaming down her cheek away as she and Emma both chuckle. "I like you, too, Emma. A lot more than I was ever willing to admit."

"I guess- what I'm trying to say is..." Emma turns to face Zelena now. "I forgive you."

"Thank you." Was all Zelena could reply with before Emma is staring at Regina with so much adoration in her eyes, Zelena could practically see the hearts floating around their heads.

"And-" Emma clears her throat, grabbing a hold of Regina's hand. "I want to be with you. Like- relationship wise. If you're cool with that."

Regina glances over at Zelena whose mouth is agape and who is frantically nodding her head. She turns her attention back to Emma, seeing Zelena run and grab their friends out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend, Swan?" Regina smirks and Emma just smiles her toothy grin.

"I mean, if you want." Emma says nonchalantly.

Regina leans forward and captures Emma's lips with her own. It's short and sweet, but packed with everything Regina felt, everything she needed to say. It left both of them breathless.

"It's more than I could ever want." Regina mumbles as she nuzzles her face into the crook of Emma's neck. "So, my answer is yes. I would love to be your girlfriend."

"FINALLY!" All four of their friends scream as Regina and Emma kiss again. "Took you long enough."

Emma continues kissing her girlfriend (yes, she still shocked, too), and raises her hand to flip all of the rest of the group off. Not that she minded at all that they were all there for this extremely heartwarming and exhilarating moment, but right now, this was about her and Regina.

And Emma couldn't be any happier.

* * *

 **AND BAM! SwanQueen is OFFICIAL. But just because we get a lot of the fluff doesn't mean the drama is going to end. Oh no, this story is definitely going to have a few more roadbumps ;)**


	10. Unexpected

**Hey, I am so sorry I haven't updated this story. I was battling myself with this chapter because I'm not terribly fond of this one but it's important to the story line and Emma's development along the way, so I am posting this one.**

 **Also, I've been super busy. I just turned 25 today and I have been up to my neck in plans.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 10 - Unexpected**_

Regina sits at her desk, watching the clock as the minutes seemed to drag on like hours. It was pure torture when all she wanted to do was get off and see Emma.

The first two weeks of their relationship had been spent apart. The day after they officially decided to be a couple, Emma and Ruby were asked to go on a short, west coast tour for a band to film a live music video in ten cities. And even though Emma was hesitant due to the newfound relationship, Regina encouraged her and told her she needed to go. Because if there one thing that Emma was passionate about, it was her job.

And Regina wholeheartedly supported her girlfriend, especially when she got to see Emma in action on the first night of the tour. Watching Emma work was something Regina absolutely adored. It taught her a lot of little things about the blonde. And while spending so much time away from her was really shitty, Regina knew Emma was doing what she loved.

She was thankful, though, that she could make it through the two weeks without being around Emma. Emma would call her every day just to check in and ask her how things were going. She would send her silly selfies of herself and sometimes of Ruby in different cities. It really helped Regina power through the days.

But Emma was finally back, having arrived in LA from Seattle a couple hours ago and Regina couldn't wait to get off of work. So much so that she had been counting down the minutes until she could leave, but they seemed to be taking forever.

When it was finally time to go, Regina hastily made her way out of the office and headed straight for Emma's condo. The drive was annoying, traffic backed up on the 405 made her wish she didn't live in such a congested city. She taps her fingers on the steering wheel as she slowly makes her way down the highway, hoping for some of the traffic to dissipate when her phone rings.

She presses the 'answer' button on her steering wheel and hears the grainy echo sound before talking.

"Hello?" She calls out.

 _'Regina, it's your mother.'_ Cora Mills voice floods through her car. _'What are you up to?'_

"Driving, mom." Regina rolls her eyes. "Did you need something?"

 _'Yes, actually. I'm coming out to visit you and Zelena in a couple of weeks. Join us for dinner, won't you?'_

"Sure." Regina answers immediately, trying to rush the conversation with her mother.

 _'Perfect!'_ Cora exclaims happily. _'Oh, bring your girlfriend. I am dying to meet her.'_

"How did you-"

 _'Zelena and Kathryn, dear.'_

"Of course." Regina sighs. "I'll ask her, but I'm not making any promises. It's not like we've been together very long. Meeting the parents is usually something you wait for."

 _'But according to Zelena, you've met her parents!'_

"Because I work with her mom. That's completely different." Regina reasons. "I knew her parents before I knew her."

 _'Potato, po-tah-to. Just bring her, okay?'_

"We'll see. I have to go. I'm driving." Regina groans, annoyed. She pulls off the highway and heads for Emma's street.

 _'Okay, darling. I'll be seeing you soon.'_

"Bye, mom." Regina rushes out in annoyance, ending the call as she parks her car in front of Emma's condo.

She gets out of the car and runs into the building, choosing to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. She makes it to the front door and gently knocks. The door swings open and Ruby is standing in the entrance, smiling.

"Hey Regina!" She exclaims happily as she lets the brunette in. "Emma's in her room. I know she was working on the video for awhile, but haven't heard much from her. She's probably got her headphones on or something, so try not to scare the living shit out of her."

"I'll do my best." Regina chuckles as she makes her way towards Emma's bedroom. She hadn't really seen much of their condo, in fact, she hadn't even been in Emma's room. But she knew where Ruby's was and therefore she knew where Emma's was in contrast.

She knocks loudly, but doesn't a hear a response. She slowly and quietly pushes the door open, expecting to see Emma huddled over her computer, but what she found was even better. Emma was passed out on her stomach, wearing only a sports bra and gym shorts. Her laptop was on the opposite side, her arm outstretched towards it. Regina smiles in adoration as she admires the sight in front of her.

She moves towards the bed and picks up Emma's laptop, gently setting it on the desk before she climbs into the bed next to her sleeping girlfriend. She lays on her side and just stares at Emma for a few moments, soaking in the image of her with tousseled hair and her mouth slightly open. She was absolutely adorable and Regina was practically radiating at that. She brushes a few strands of hair away from Emma's face before pressing a few feather-light kisses on her cheek.

"Emma." Regina whispers as her lips ghost above the blonde's ear. "Wake up."

She feels Emma shift and make cute noises as her eyes flutter open. "Mmm. Hi."

"Hi, sleepyhead." Regina smiles as Emma moves off of her stomach and onto her side.

Emma scoots closer to Regina, wrapping her arm around her waist. "I missed you."

Emma leans forward and captures Regina's lips, lazily kissing her as she tries to wake up. Their tongues dance together slowly as Regina presses her body closer to her girlfriend, feeling Emma's erect member against her thigh.

Regina pulls away and places one last kiss on Emma's lips before smirking. "I can tell."

Emma groans loudly as she looks down, and sure enough, she had 'morning' wood. "Ugh. I didn't even notice. I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Regina asks innocently.

"Because it's embarrassing." Emma flushes red. "And now I'm going to be stuck with it because I don't want to get rid of it while you're here. That'd be awkward."

"Or we could..." Regina pauses, biting her lower lip, her hand trailing up and down the exposed part of Emma's torso. "Like, you know."

"I- uh- oh." Emma stumbles out in nervousness, the implication throwing her off guard. "Like- uhm- wow."

"Are you okay, Emma?" Regina asks in concern.

"Ugh." Emma groans, rolling onto her back and covering her face with her arms. "No."

"What's wrong?" Regina tries getting Emma to look at her.

Emma inhales sharply, holding her breath as she tries to come up with something to say. "It's just- I'm like-"

"Embarrassed?" Regina answers for her and Emma nods her head. She removes her arms and looks at Regina sadly. "Why are you embarrassed?"

"Because like... okay, so- I just..." Emma sighs loudly. "What if I suck?"

"Why would you suck? Wait, are you-"

"No!" Emma interrupts. "I'm just not like well-versed in, you know. I've only slept with two people and I was drunk for one of those."

"Oh." Regina presses her lips together in thought.

"I mean, I waited a year before even sleeping with Lily. And it's not like she actually enjoyed it, you know, since she was getting it on the side." Emma's lips turn into a frown. "I just feel, I don't know... inadequate, I guess?"

"Babe, look at me." Regina says, Emma's eyes tearing away from the ceiling as she turns her head to look at her girlfriend. "First of all, I don't care if you're absolutely terrible in bed. It's not going to make or break our relationship. I like you for you. And secondly, we don't have to do anything you're not quite ready for. If you need more time, then we'll wait. I was just throwing out a suggestion."

"What did I do to deserve you?" Emma asks, just above a whisper. "I'm so damn lucky to have you."

Regina leans forward and kisses Emma's cheek before snuggling into her side. "You didn't have to do anything, Emma. You were yourself and that means more to me than anything."

"You're the best," Emma sighs contently. "But I think I'm going to need a cold shower for the time being."

* * *

"So you're saying she offered to have sex with you and YOU DIDN'T GO FOR IT? Are you prude?" Ruby exclaims.

"Ugh." Emma groans. "It's not that I didn't want to, I did. But like- I freaked out. I suddenly felt completely inexperienced and I didn't want it to suck."

"You're not inexperienced." Ariel chimes in, Emma's eyes going wide at the comment. "What? Dude, we may have been plastered when we slept together, but it was still enjoyable."

"I always forget you two got it on." Ruby replies, noticing the growing embarrassment on Emma's face before the blonde shoots daggers at her. "Don't look at me like that, Emma."

"I didn't need the reminder that I slept with one of my best friends when I drunk and sad." Emma huffs out, crossing her arms. In all honesty, she really had pushed that event to the back of her mind. It was right after her breakup with Lily and Ariel was there for her before Ruby came into the picture. It only happened once, and Emma hardly remembers a damn thing from it, but it's not like she needed the reminder.

"Okay, fair. It was kind of awkward because we're like best friends, but you just said that you didn't want the sex to suck and I'm just letting you know, you're not inexperienced at all." Ariel says.

"Thanks, I guess." Emma shrugs. "I just feel really bad that I turned her down."

"You're not ready. It's different when you're in a relationship and not just sleeping with random people. You can totally fuck someone without it meaning anything, but when you're together, it's much more intimate than that." Ariel reasons.

"Exactly! And I want it to be perfect. I know I let my insecurities get the best of me last night, but I don't know." Emma groans loudly. "I just want to wait for the right moment."

"Emma, you're completely enamored with Regina. How is that not perfect already?" Ruby asks in curiosity.

"I don't know. Like I know we like each other A LOT, but..."

"You don't know if she loves you and you're scared of sharing that intimacy without knowing exactly how she feels." Ariel answers for her. "Because you trusted Lily and she left you ultimately because of your condition. You're insecure about it because the one person you thought to be understanding about it turned on you."

"Yes! That is completely spot on." Emma exclaims. "Like, I trust Regina, I do. But sharing that part of me, my condition, it's difficult."

"But you slept with Ariel." Ruby replies in confusion, trying to understand what Ariel and Emma meant.

"Yeah, but Emma trusts me enough to know it wouldn't change anything between us. I mean, while we were super drunk, it didn't change the fact that Emma is my friend and condition or not, I'd care for her anyway. Also, it was definitely a non-emotional fuck. But Emma's concern is that because she has feelings for Regina, sex might change things between them like it did for her and Lily."

"Oh, I totes get it now! Thank you for explaining that." Ruby smiles widely before looking at Emma. "And Emma, I'm sorry for calling you a prude. I didn't realize you felt that way since we don't really talk about things like sex in a serious setting."

"It's okay, dude." Emma smiles back. "I just want our first time to be special, you know? Like I can see the possibility of a future with us and I just want to make sure those same feeling are reciprocated before giving up that piece of me."

"Completely understandable." Ruby agrees but not without noticing Emma's facial expression. It was the one she used many times when contemplating something. "Anything else on your mind?"

"Yeah, uh, Regina told me about this dinner thing in a couple of weeks and I'm debating on whether or not I want to go." Emma shrugs her shoulders.

"Why wouldn't you want to go? Is it because Zelena will be there? I thought you put that behind you?" Ariel questions.

"No, I don't mind the fact that Zelena will be there." Emma replies.

"Then what is making you debate such an occasion?" Ariel asks.

"It's with her mother."

* * *

"Are you nervous?" Zelena asks Regina as they sit in the living room of Zelena's house. Zelena notices her sister constantly looking at the door and bouncing her knee as they wait for Emma's arrival.

"Who wouldn't be? It's _Cora Mills_ we're talking about." Regina nods her head towards the kitchen where Cora Mills was. "I don't want her to like pressure Emma into talking about things she doesn't want to talk about."

"Like her condition, I get it. Well, I haven't told mum, you haven't told her. It's neither of our places to." Zelena shrugs. "In all honesty, I'm shocked Emma agreed to come all the way out to San Diego to have dinner with our mother."

"Well, she knows it means a lot to me." Regina replies. "Emma cares, you know? She wants to actually know the little things about me."

"You're lucky." Zelena scoffs. "I couldn't even get Lily to do half of what Emma does for you."

"That's because Lily's a bitch. You and Emma obviously both know that first hand. However, we're not mentioning her at all tonight, okay?" Regina raises an eyebrow at her sister.

Zelena puts her hands up defensively. "I wasn't going to. Tell mum that."

"How about you tell Cora that." Regina rolls her eyes.

"Zelena!" Cora calls from the kitchen. "Come help me figure out this contraption you call an electric stove!"

"Speak of the devil." Zelena groans as she stomps off towards the kitchen, leaving Regina in living room. She can hear her sister and mother bickering in the kitchen, and she shakes her head while lightly chuckling at them.

She glances toward the front door again when she hears the sound of a car door slamming shut. Her nerves start growing as footsteps make their way toward the porch. Emma was about to meet her mother. Her crazy, old fashioned, stuck up mother and Regina was hoping that Cora would play nice and not try and bombard Emma with uncomfortable questions. The doorbell rings and Regina gets up from the couch and opens the door.

"Hey." Emma smiles nervously, holding onto a small bouquet of flowers. "Uh, I got these for you and then I remembered that I wasn't going to your house, so now I feel kind of bad that you can't really take them home without them dying. They've already been out of water for a couple of hours."

Regina's heart melts at the gesture, admiring how sweet and thoughtful her girlfriend was. "It's okay, babe. I'm sure Zelena could use some color in here."

Emma chuckles as she hands over the bouquet and leans in to kiss Regina on the cheek. "Well you can enjoy them until you give them to your sister."

"I most definitely will." Regina smiles as Emma finally steps into the house. She closes the door behind her and watches as Emma lets out a huge breath while shoving her hands in her pocket. "Nervous?"

"I mean- yeah." Emma shrugs, taking her left hand out of her pocket and gently tapping it against her thigh. "It's your mom. What if she hates me?"

"Her opinion about you doesn't matter because I'll still be with you regardless of what she thinks." Regina answers, grabbing Emma's hand and giving it a firm, reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, but I don't want her to hate me, you know? I don't know how to explain it, but like- I've never done this whole 'meet the parents' thing, and I want her to like me." Emma admits. "Hell, I even wore the most annoying and tightest boxers I had just so she wouldn't know I'm... different."

"Babe." Regina says sweetly. "You didn't have to do that. I can only imagine how uncomfortable that is."

"I know." Emma says coyly. "But like I said, I want her to like me, like the real me. Not what I was born with."

"But it is the real you." Regina replies. "It's the most genuine thing about you."

"To you, maybe. But to other people..." Emma trails off before shuddering at certain past experiences.

Regina shakes her head lightly and turns to face Emma, kissing her lightly on the lips. "Other people can go fuck themselves if they think you're any less of a wonderful person because of your condition."

Emma presses her lips together in a heartfelt smile. "Seriously, I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm glad you're my girlfriend."

"You were yourself. I told you this the other day." Regina mirrors Emma's smile. "I like you, all of you. You didn't try to hide it from me for a prolonged period of time. You were upfront and honest, even though I'm sure it was terrifying. You were brave, and I adore you so much for it."

Emma hugs Regina, holding her like she never wanted to let her go. She was still nervous, it was easy to tell by the trembling in her hand, but with Regina by her side, she felt like she could get through anything.

"Thank you for being amazing." Emma whispers as she pulls away.

"Thank you for being you." Regina says as she nods her head towards the kitchen. "Well, you ready?"

Emma inhales sharply and nods slowly. She lets out a deep breath as Regina leads her through the house to the kitchen, where Zelena and Cora were still arguing over Zelena's stovetop.

"Mum, stop trying to ignite the gas, it's electric!" Zelena groans, stomping her foot on the ground.

"It's the devil! Why can't you have a normal stove!?" Cora whines.

"It _IS_ normal, mother. Your stove is from the freaking 80's!" Zelena huffs out. She notices Regina waving from the corner. "Oh, Gina! Emma! Hey."

"Hi." Emma nervously says, offering a small wave in their direction. "I'm Emma."

Cora gasps excitedly and moves away from the stove, much to Zelena's relief and walks over to the couple.

"I'm Cora Mills! It's so nice to finally put a face to the name." She extends her hand and shakes Emma's. "Regina, she's a looker."

"Mooooom." Regina groans loudly.

"What? I'm just calling it how I see it." Cora smiles before turning her attention back to Emma. "I've heard a lot about you."

"All good, I hope." Emma chuckles. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Oh dear, nonsense. You're a guest and you shall be treated as such." Cora says. "Go and make yourselves at home. Zelena and I got this."

Emma nods and smiles, still slightly anxious as she watches Regina hand over the bouquet of flowers to Zelena and telling her to put them in water. They can hear Cora gushing over how sweet it was that Emma brought flowers as they make their way into the dining room.

"That wasn't so bad." Emma says as they sit at the table.

"Just wait until she starts asking you five million questions about your life." Regina chuckles. "She's nice on first impression, but you'll understand how slightly judgmental and crazy she is in a bit."

"Oh god, do I even want to know?"

* * *

"So Emma, tell me where you're from." Cora asks as they all start to dig into their dinner.

"Originally from Phoenix, but my mom opened up a real estate agency out in Los Angeles when I got accepted into UCLA, so we all moved out here." Emma answers.

"Interesting." Cora states in a perplexed manner. "And what do you do for a living?"

"Oh, I'm a professional photographer and videographer."

"A videographer?" Cora questions, raising her eyebrow. "What's that?"

"I- uh- I make short films, I guess? I just finished shooting a music video." Emma shrugs. "But I mostly do photography. Weddings, senior photos, portraits, et cetera."

"You should really see her work, mum. It's beyond amazing. She took this really breathtaking photo of Regina." Zelena chimes in, offering a reassuring smile in Emma's direction.

"You actually got a photo of my daughter without her scowling?" Cora jokes and Regina pouts.

"I do not scowl!" Regina argues.

"Yes, you do." Zelena and Cora say in unison.

"Whatever." Regina mutters as she takes a sip from her wine.

"Aw, Regina. Don't be like that." Emma says, poking her girlfriend's cheek. "You don't scowl that much."

"Thanks, dear." Regina replies sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Emma's joke.

"So, Emma." Cora draws the attention away. "What are your plans for the future? Like do you want kids or anything like that?"

Emma practically chokes on the food she was chewing, regaining her composure after clearing her throat. "Oh, uhm, I've never given it much thought. I mean- like kids would be cool someday, I guess."

"Would you want to have them yourself or...?"

"Uh- I-" Emma stutters out. "Well-"

The doorbell rings and interrupts the conversation, to which Emma was thankful for.

"Are you expecting anyone, Z?" Regina asks as she tries to calm Emma's nerves by lightly stroking her thumb over the blonde's thigh.

"No..." Zelena replies in confusion. "You guys stay here, I'll go figure out who's here."

Zelena gets up from the table and exits the dining room, shutting the door behind her. She walks down the hallway to the front of her house and raises her eyebrow when she sees the automatic porch light turn on.

She unlocks the door and presses down the handle, the door swinging open, gasping as her eyes fall on the unexpected visitor.

"Lily!?"

* * *

 **So if you haven't noticed by now, Emma's totes insecure with herself when it comes to her condition (which is part of her character development). Also, what kind of drama can Lily stir up?  
Find out next chapter!**


	11. New Information

**FINALLY. This is a long ass chapter, and kind of redundant, but necessary. I don't know how to feel about it, but the next chapter is definitely the one you've all been waiting for, so keep checking back, and hopefully I'll stop being so busy and be able to update sooner than a month...**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 11 -** New Information_ _  
_

"Lily!?" Zelena gapes in disbelief as she stares at her ex. She closes the door behind her as she steps out of the house. "What are you doing here?"

"Last I checked, I still technically own half of this house. You know, the one we bought together?" Lily scoffs, crossing her arms. "Or did you really forget?"

"You fucking left! You can't just show up whenever." Zelena argues.

"Oh, for god's sake, Z. Get over it." Lily rolls her eyes. "I needed some stuff that I left, but there's something a little more interesting that I found."

Lily points to a car in the driveway, glaring at Zelena. "What the fuck is Emma doing here?"

"That's none of your business." Zelena shakes her head.

"Oh, so you guys just decide to be friends? Or more than that? Is this to get back at me?" Lily interrogates. "Or are you guys just like starting some League of Evil Exes like in that Scott Pilgrim movie?"

"I don't owe you anything."

"You can tell me what the fuck Emma Swan is doing at my fucking house." Lily growls, but Zelena stands her ground, blocking the door. "I deserve to know why she's here."

"No."

Lily roughly shoves Zelena to the side and opens the door, hearing chatter coming from the dining room. She runs through the house until she reaches the closed doors of the dining room, looking through the glass panes to see Regina, Cora, and Emma talking away. None of them have noticed her and she can hear the door slam behind her, the angry footsteps of Zelena growing closer.

Lily busts into the room, everyone at the table's attention immediately on her.

"Oh, that's fucking rich." Lily chuckles. "You really had to go for Zelena's sister, didn't you, Emma?"

Emma's eyes are wide in shock as her heart races in her chest. She can't produce words, she can't look away. In front of her stood the one person who completely ruined her, her feeling of self-worth. And Emma's now officially terrified of Lily opening her big mouth.

"How does it feel to have my sloppy seconds, Gina?" Lily states, the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"What?" Regina plays dumb, holding onto Emma's hand tightly. Zelena is behind Lily, the same terrified look on her face that Emma has.

"I mean, she's a good fuck, yeah?" Lily glares between the two of them. Zelena grabs Lily's arm and starts trying to drag her ex away from the dining room, but Lily keeps provoking them. "I bet she fucks you so well with that huge cock of hers!"

"Enough!" Zelena yells as she finally gets the higher ground and pulls a screaming Lily away from the dining room.

Emma looks like she's about to throw up and Cora looks between Regina and Emma, a confused expression on her face.

"Regina..." Cora starts out.

"Shit." Regina mutters out. She can feel Emma pull her hand away from Regina, the dishes on the table clatter as she pushes her chair out and runs from the table. "Emma, wait!"

Regina gets up to go get her girlfriend who had just been outed and humiliated, but her mom stops her. "Wait, Regina. What is she talking about?"

"Emma has a condition, okay? We were going to tell you, but on her own time and terms. It's caused her a lot of problems in the past... starting with Lily." Regina tries to explain.

"And you're okay with that?" Cora asks. "Her being... different?"

"Yes, I am."

"I just- I'm trying to understand here. I got it when you turned out to be gay, but now you're telling me that your girlfriend has a male body part and I- I just don't get it." Cora says.

"There's nothing to get, mother." Regina states harshly. "Just because Emma has a penis doesn't mean she's any less of a woman."

"I just- I'm not following." Cora stutters out. "I'm trying to be understanding of this, Regina."

"Understand this, okay? I love her, mother. I am so madly in love with Emma Swan and just because she was born differently does not mean that she isn't the purest, most amazing soul I've ever met." Regina admits, standing halfway in the kitchen. "And I'm not letting that fucking bitch ruin our relationship."

* * *

"What the fuck was that!?" Zelena yells as she drags an angry Lily out of her house. "You don't just get to decide to show up and barge in, and fucking ruin things!"

"And you don't get to just invite my ex girlfriend into OUR house. I don't give a fuck if I don't live here anymore or not, I don't want her here." Lily argues back. "And why do you even care so much? YOU helped me leave her. YOU are as much of the bad guy as I am."

"You lied to me, Lily! You kept her a secret for months. We were both your secret." Zelena scoffs, crossing her arms.

"It didn't fucking stop you from screwing her over!"

"I was blind and in love!" Zelena screams. "You took advantage of that and you know it."

"Whatever." Lily rolls her eyes.

"You played both of us." Zelena states sternly. "And Emma has moved on from you and is dating my sister, and you're going to respect that and get the fuck off of my property."

"Fuck you, Zelena." Lily spits, eyes glaring daggers at the redhead. The door opens and Regina's standing outside, frantically looking for Emma when she spots Lily and Zelena. "Have fun with that emotional, alcoholic train wreck, Regina."

Regina stomps over to Lily as soon as the words leave her mouth. She grabs the collar of Lily's shirts and pulls her close. She can feel that heat of Lily's breath on her face as she narrows her eyes.

"Say one more hurtful thing about Emma, I fucking dare you." Regina growls as her grip tightens.

"What are _you_ going to do, Regina? Hurt me?" Lily sarcastically pouts her lower lip.

"Watch me." Regina says seriously.

"How can you even stand up for her?" Lily questions. "You'll understand in time how a person like Emma Swan can wear you down. Just you wait..."

Regina roughly shoves Lily, letting go of the collar of her shirt as she stumbles backwards. She's ready to swing, but an arm moves in front of her chest and pulls her back.

"Regina..." Zelena says. "She's not worth it."

"You're a fucking monster, Lily." Regina glares, doing her best not to break free of her sister's hold and strangle the brunette in front of her. "Stay the fuck away from Emma and my sister."

Lily scoffs, turning to walk away when she stops dead in her tracks and turns back around. "Why don't you ask Emma about her drinking problem." Lily yells before getting in her car and driving off.

"Drinking problem?" Zelena asks, turning to look at her sister who was still angrily glaring at the street. "Regina?"

"I don't know." Regina sighs, removing herself from Zelena's grip. "I need to find Emma."

* * *

"The fuck do I do?" Emma slurs into the phone as she takes another swig of the whiskey she found in Zelena's kitchen.

 _'Maybe stop drinking, first.'_ Ruby replies. _'Emma, don't fall back into destructive behavior because Lily showed up.'_

"No. Fuck that, you can't tell me wha-what to do." Emma hiccups. "She fucking told my secret to Regina's mom and I dunno what to- Imma just go sit outside."

 _'Do NOT get into your car.'_ Ruby warns as she hears Emma shuffling around and a door closing. _'I swear to god, Emma. Do not drive anywhere.'_

"I'm not gonna do that, silly." Emma drunkenly laughs. "I jus- I need to get outta here. Regina's mom probs hates me so like I need to go."

Emma stands on the back porch as she watches the scenery around her grow blurry. "Dude, I'm dizzy."

 _'THEN STOP DRINKING, EMMA.'_ Ruby yells. _'I love you to death, dude. But you need to put the bottle down and sober the fuck up. Do NOT become the person you hate.'_

"But when I'm drunk, I'm like totes cool."

 _'No, you're not. Babes, seriously... Remember the last time you got super drunk?'_

"Pfft no." Emma shakes her head.

 _'You literally almost punched a hole in the wall because you got mad over nothing. You don't need to do anything you'll regret.'_

"Ha!" Emma laughs, taking a swig of the whiskey. "My relationship is already ruined. What am I going to do that I'll- that I'll regret? I'd rather just sit here than deal with that shiiit."

 _'Emma, don't say that. You have no idea what's going on inside because you've probably slammed a fourth of a bottle of whiskey in the last ten minutes.'_

"Mm half." Emma slurs as she sits on a step on the porch. "My head feels funny."

 _'Put. Down. The. Bottle. Emma. Swan.'_ Ruby demands punctually.

"I'm just not meant to be happy." Emma poorly argues.

 _'Yes, you are. You just need to get through this. I know you're upset because Lily showed up, but fuck that bitch.'_ Ruby says before hearing a bunch of clattering and Emma yelling **'hey, that's mine'** to someone.

"Ruby?"

 _'Regina?'_

"Yeah." Regina sighs. "Look, I'm going to get Emma home, okay?"

 _'Thank you.'_

"Of course, see you in a couple of hours." Regina hangs up before glancing at Emma who's pouting at her. "As for you, I'll be taking that."

Regina grabs the bottle of whiskey from Emma's hands.

"What? No, give it back." Emma drunkenly pleads.

"No." Regina states sternly, grabbing a hold of Emma's arm. "We're going home."

"Ruby told me not to drive soooo." Emma slurs.

"Which is why I'm driving your car back to LA." Regina rolls her eyes at her drunk girlfriend. Emma just shrugs her shoulders and follows Regina into the house and out the front door. Regina gets Emma situated in the car before kneeling down in front of her. "I'm taking the bottle inside, telling my mom and Zelena we're leaving, and we're going home, okay?"

"Mmph." Emma grunts before slumping over in her passenger seat.

"Dear lord." Regina whispers to herself as she closes the car door. She groans loudly as she enters the house and sets the bottle down on the entry way table. "Z? Mom?"

"Dining room!" Cora calls out. Regina heads toward the dining room and sees Cora sitting with Zelena at the table.

"I think it's best if I take Emma home, like now." Regina rushes out. "She's in a bad place right now and I just need to get her home safely."

"I understand." Cora nods before getting up and hugging her daughter. "I'm sorry I had a poor first reaction to the news… It just caught me off guard, and I'm really trying to be supportive of you. If Emma makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, mom. That means a lot to me, and I'm sure it will to Emma." Regina nods as she hugs her mom back.

"Mind if I talk to Emma before you guys leave, Gina?" Zelena speaks up and Regina nods her head towards the door.

"Yeah, she's in the car."

"I'll be right back." Zelena says, heading towards the front door. She descends the stairs and sees Emma sitting in the passenger's seat, buckled up and staring blankly out the window.

Zelena opens the car door and Emma turns, shocked.

"Whaaa?" Emma stutters out.

"Hello, Emma." Zelena states sternly.

"Allo Gov'na!" Emma laughs hysterically, causing the redhead to roll her eyes.

"Drinking problem, explain now." Zelena demands, not wanting to waste time with a drunk Emma. The blonde stops laughing and stares at Zelena with wide eyes. "Well?"

"I jusss- okay. So I have a drink-drinking problem." Emma admits.

"Because of Lily?" Zelena questions.

"Yep." Emma pops the 'p'. "She fucking ruined me."

"You're not ruined, dude."

"Nah I'm damaged goods." Emma slurs, her hands making random gestures as her gaze averts back to the dashboard. "I don't deserve to be happy."

"Emma, yes you do. Fuck Lily, okay? My sister is in there worried about you because she doesn't know this side of you. And it needs to stop." Zelena states. "Regina almost beat the shit out of Lily because of what she did to you. And you repay her by what? Getting plastered off your ass?"

Emma opens her mouth to respond, but Zelena shuts her up. "No, I know what she did was horrible and wrong, but you need to be better than this. Drinking is only going to make things worse. Do you understand?"

"She stood up for me?"

"Yeah, she did. She stood up for you with our mother and she stood up for you with Lily. You mean a lot to her, Emma. Ruin it, and I'll fucking murder you. I will smash a bottle over your head and then stab you with the glass while the alcohol burns your wounds." Zelena outlandishly threatens. "Got it?"

"Yes." Emma gulps loudly.

"I like you, Emma. You're good for Regina when you're not being a destructive asshole. I know your past hurts but fucking move on, dude. Build your future, okay?"

"Okay." Emma agrees before glancing out of the corner of her eye. "Thanks."

"Look, I completely understand where you're coming from. Lily is a piece of shit, and I almost took some bad paths trying to come back from it." Zelena admits. "You just got to stay strong, all right? And stop drinking so much. Stop assuming that one bad thing is going to ruin your relationship with my sister because if you act like this every time one bad thing happens, it will shatter it."

"Mhmm." Emma replies, her mind still cloudy and drunk. "Good talk."

"Dear Jesus, I really hope you remember this when you're sober." Zelena mutters.

"I will though because like she means the world to me, you know? Like- WOW." Emma opens her eyes wide as she over exaggerates her words.

"She does?" Zelena raises an eyebrow.

"Mhmm. But like don't tell her cause it's like suuuuper soon. I don't want her to freak out."

"Why would she freak out?" Zelena presses.

"Because liiike, I dunno. What if she doesn't feel the same way, yet?" Emma asks sadly.

"You are the most oblivious drunk I've ever met." Zelena groans.

"What's that sup-supposed to mean?"

"She really cares about you, you do know that right? Regina really, really cares about you, Emma." Zelena explains.

"But she doesn't love me and I- whoa." Emma says as she gets another bout of dizziness and slumps over in the seat.

"And you what?" Zelena asks, but Emma is just mumbling nonsense. She shakes the blonde's shoulder a few times, but nothing.

"God damn it." Zelena mutters loudly. "Go to sleep, Swan. We'll finish this conversation another day."

"Mm." Emma grumbles in response before closing her eyes. Zelena rolls her eyes and shakes her head, closing the car door just in time for Regina to leave the house.

"She passed out." Zelena mentions to Regina as she walks up to her porch.

"Of course, she did." Regina sighs loudly, hugging her sister. "Thank you for making sure she was okay. And for trying to get Lily out of here as fast as humanly possible."

"You're welcome." Zelena smiles. "Also, I talked to Emma about her... drinking issue."

"You did? What did she say?" Regina asks curiously.

"She admitted she had one. That it started because of Lily. I know that seeing her was hard on Emma, but just be careful, okay? There's something that happened in her past that she's not completely over and I don't want anything bad to happen to either of you." Zelena replies.

"I'm just hoping that she freaked out because she was humiliated in front of our mother, and that's why she got drunk. But I'll keep an eye on her. This can't be a daily occurrence."

"I just want you to be cautious. If she really is an alcoholic, then you have no idea what she'd do in the long run. They're unpredictable in behavior." Zelena says.

"I know, Z." Regina nods. "If it continues, though, I'll either get her help or leave. I know when too much is too much."

"Okay, baby sis. Well, get her home safely." Zelena smiles as she opens the front door.

"I will."

* * *

 _"Hey, I need to talk to you." Emma says as she pokes her head in the office._

 _"Of course. Come in."_

 _Emma nods and fully opens the door, walking into the office. She sits on a chair and starts twiddling her thumbs._

 _"You know, I've missed you the past few months, at our meetings." Dr. Hopper says as he sits across from Emma. "May I inquire why you haven't attended?"_

 _"I, uh, I haven't been drinking as much anymore, you know? It's become a social thing, now. I only drink when I go out and that's not often." Emma admits._

 _"Why the sudden change? When you started AA, you were still kind of struggling with heavy drinking." Archie asks, leaning in with his hand under his chin._

 _"I met someone." Emma smiles. "And she cares about me, you know?"_

 _"I see. And this woman, she makes you happy?" Archie questions._

 _"Yeah, so happy. I think I love her." Emma says out loud for the first time ever. "No, I know-"_

* * *

"-I love her." Emma mumbles in her sleep.

It's the first thing Regina has heard from her girlfriend since she started driving back to LA from her sister's house. She wonders what Emma is potentially dreaming of and who she was talking about. Regina lifts an eyebrow as she carefully reaches across the console to tap Emma on the thigh.

"Emma?" Regina calls out as the blonde shifts in the passenger seat. "You awake?"

"-has a big heart." Emma says while still sleeping. "I feel like I can-"

"Emma?" Regina repeats, once again tapping the blonde against her thigh. She watches out of the corner of her eye as Emma groggily wakes up and looks at her, smiling. "Hey, who were you talking to?"

"Mm, my therapist." Emma replies while yawning, still not fully awake.

"Therapist?"

"Mmhmmm." Emma hums, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the window. "I was telling him about you."

"Oh, really?" Regina asks, amused.

"Yeah." Emma nods. "I was telling him that I love you."

Regina eyes widen as her left hand grips the steering wheel tightly. She has to make sure she doesn't avert her eyes from the road, but she really wants to look at her girlfriend. She wants to see some kind of reassurance of Emma's sudden confession, but the blonde was still drunk and Regina was unsure if she had actually meant what she said, or if it was the alcohol talking.

And she really hopes Emma means it because she's known for the last month that she's in love with Emma. She felt it the minute that Emma left for that two week tour. How empty and hollow she felt without seeing her girlfriend for that long. How she got a twinkle in her eye and her heart nearly beat out of her chest whenever Emma would send her cute texts or call her simply to ask how her day was. It made her so weak in the knees, the feeling that Emma gave her. But she had always been unsure of how Emma felt towards her, especially when Emma wouldn't be intimate with her.

And while she knows that Emma says it's because she felt inadequate, it still made Regina wonder if Emma refused it because she didn't feel the same way. And she knew she would have to ask the blonde about it when she's sober, but her main priority at the moment was getting Emma home safely.

She pushes it to the back of her mind when she notices Emma was asleep again. She parks the car in front of Emma's condo and gently wakes her girlfriend.

"Babe, we're here. Let's get you upstairs." Regina says as Emma opens her eyes.

"Mhmm." Emma nods as she tiredly unbuckles herself and opens the car door, holding onto it to keep her balance. Regina exits the car and walks around, supporting Emma as they start walking into the building. "Are you staying?"

"Do you want me to?" Regina asks. They had actually never spent the night together since they started dating and Regina was just planning on going home after Emma was safely in her apartment and under Ruby's supervision.

"Yes." Emma nods as they get to her front door. "I wanna cuddle with you."

"Oh, do you?" Regina asks as she uses Emma's keys to unlock her door and leads her into the condo.

"I like cuddling with you."

"I like cuddling with you, too, Emma." Regina opens Emma's bedroom door and plops her girlfriend down on the bed. "I'll be right back."

Emma clicks her tongue in understanding and Regina walks out of the room and into the kitchen. She grabs a glass of water before heading towards Ruby's bedroom. She knocks gently and waits for the brunette to open the door.

"Hey Regina." Ruby yawns. "What's up?"

"Where's your aspirin? I'm going to make Emma hydrate and take some so she doesn't wake up with a hangover." Regina says motioning to the glass.

"Emma has some in her nightstand." Ruby smiles. "Thanks for getting her home safely."

"Of course. Sorry for waking you." Regina apologizes as they say goodnight. She heads back to Emma's bedroom and surprised to see that the blonde had already managed to get her clothes off as she lay facedown in her bra and boxers.

She shakes her head and chuckles lightly as she sets the glass of water on the nightstand next to Emma's bed. She opens the drawer and starts rifling through the contents in an attempt to find the aspirin when her hand lands on something that catches her attention: a box of condoms. What catches her attention even more is the fact that it's opened, and she can tell that one's been ripped off of the strip. She pauses for a minute and raises her eyebrow at it. She remembers Emma saying something about her sleeping with someone else who wasn't Lily, but she didn't know how recently it was.

And it almost made her heart sink. What if Emma had slept with this girl not long ago and it was the reason she didn't want to sleep with Regina?

Regina shakes her head and drops them back into the nightstand when she spots the aspirin, trying not to think too hard about finding the condoms. Maybe they were from before they had even met. At least that's what she's hoping. She pushes it to the back of her mind, not wanting to freak out over what could potentially be nothing. Instead, she pours a few aspirin into her hand and goes to wake up Emma.

"Emma, hey." Regina gently shakes Emma's shoulder. Emma groggily looks up from her pillow, eyes shut.

"Mm?"

"Sit up." Regina commands and Emma pushes herself into a sitting position, still not fully awake, but conscious enough for Regina to hand her the aspirin and for her to take them along with the glass of water.

"Thank you." Emma nods before she lays back down. "You're the best."

Regina halfheartedly smiles at her girlfriend as she falls back asleep. She turns off the lights, strips down and climbs into bed next to Emma, cuddling into the sleeping blonde's side. She tries to keep her mind off of everything that had happened in the last few hours, knowing they'll probably talk about it in the morning. She couldn't let it get to her, not without a sober Emma there to give her answers. She knew she would have to let it go, for now.

She leans over and places a kiss on Emma's cheek before snuggling her face into her neck.

"Goodnight, Emma."

* * *

 **Things happened. That's all I have to say. Even more things will happen next chapter.**


	12. I'm Ready

**So, I hope that this 4.7k word count chapter makes up for the fact that it took me an extremely long time to update, again. I hope I can get back on a cycle, but I cannot promise anything. I can, however, promise you that I didn't lie at the end of chapter 11 when I told you, THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN. So, enjoy this chapter, it's probably the one you've all been waiting for.**

* * *

 _Chapter 12 - I'm Ready  
_

Emma wakes up the next morning feeling like hell. Instant regret hits her when she realizes she knows this feeling all too well. She got drunk, and she starts freaking out. She had done so well in the last few months and now this. She tries her hardest to remember what happened the previous night, what had led to her destructive behavior and worries if Regina saw her like this. Her questions are answered when she turns her head slightly and sees her girlfriend lying in bed next to her.

"Shit." Emma mutters as a few pieces of last night come together in her head. She remembers dinner, remembers Lily showing up and sharing her secret. Then nothing. A huge, gaping black hole of nothingness. She groans loudly as she grips her pounding forehead and closes her eyes, seeing if anything else comes to her.

When she realizes that everything else is blank, she sighs. She really hopes she didn't make a fool of herself, but knowing how she can get when she's drunk, she only assumes the worst. And she knows she needs to talk to Regina, but she doesn't want to wake her up. Instead, she flips over and drapes her arm over Regina's waist and presses a soft kiss to her exposed back before cuddling into her.

She feels Regina shift in her sleep, turning around in her arms and facing her. Her eyes flutter open and Emma smiles at her.

"Good morning." Regina whispers, snuggling into Emma.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay." She mumbles against Emma's skin. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell." Emma breathes out. "I'm sorry about last night..."

"Do you remember anything?" Regina lifts her head up.

"Lily showing up... and then nothing really after that. I think Zelena yelled at me, but I'm not sure..."

"She did." Regina confirms laying her head on Emma's chest. "We were really worried about you."

"I know. I feel terrible about it." Emma frowns. "I really thought I was past that phase... Before I met you, I had a really bad drinking problem."

"Yeah... Lily mentioned that."

"I went through a lot of AA and thought I was doing better. I guess I reacted poorly to seeing Lily and I was out of line." Emma admits. "So I apologize for anything I said or did. I hope I didn't ruin anything."

"You didn't, but Emma, it's not a good coping mechanism."

"I know." Emma replies. "I'm so sorry..."

"Just don't let it happen again, okay? I don't want to have to worry about finding you drunk in a ditch or dead because you were plastered." Regina shudders at the thought. "I care about you way too much and I can't stand the thought of losing you."

"Me either." Emma kisses Regina's forehead, her heart fluttering at Regina's words.

"Can I ask you a question?" Regina randomly asks as she lifts her head off of Emma's chest.

"Of course you can."

"A couple of weeks ago when you told me that you had only slept with two people... was one of those recently?" Regina asks and she feels Emma stiffen. "It's just, I didn't mean to snoop but I was looking through your drawer to find aspirin and I found well, condoms... and one was gone and I won't be mad. I'm just curious."

It's silent for a few seconds and Regina braces herself for the worst, but instead, Emma just chuckles.

"So funny story about those: when we met, Ruby went out and bought them. But honestly, I'd never even heard of a 'larger sized condom'." Emma air quotes. "And just to be totally safe and make sure they wouldn't be too big, I may have tried one on. And to answer your other question, the other person was Ariel. It was right after my breakup with Lily and we were both super drunk, and I was sad. But it didn't mean anything."

And it really didn't mean anything, Regina can tell by the honest look on Emma's face. She feels relief wash over her and casts aside all doubts, almost berating herself for nearly freaking out over her accidental finding.

"Thank you for telling me the truth." Regina smiles widely.

"Of course, babe. I would never lie to you." Emma grins.

"I know. I shouldn't have gotten worried, but I couldn't help it. I thought there was something wrong with me and that was the reason we didn't, you know.

"No, no. It's not you at all. I just, I felt really insecure." Emma admits. "There's nothing wrong with you, Regina. I lo-"

She pauses. She knows what she wants to say, but she can't seem to get it out. Emma really wants to tell Regina, but she still has no idea how she'll take it.

"I know."

"You know?" Emma questions, raising an eyebrow.

"You told me last night when you were drunk." Regina admits. "On the drive home, you told me that you told your therapist that you loved me."

"Oh god." Emma hides her face in the pillow in embarrassment, but Regina uses her hand to get Emma to look at her.

"I love you, too." Regina confirms and she swears she could see the lights twinkling in Emma's eyes. And she felt the weight of the world lift off of her shoulders at the sight of Emma's face. All of those insecurities she had about telling her girlfriend how she felt washed away.

But instead of replying with words, Emma leans forward kisses Regina, her grip tightening on her waist like she never wanted to let her go. And Regina loves every moment of it as their lips dance together in perfect harmony. She can feel Emma's hand running up and down her back, stalling in the middle as it reaches the clasp of her bra. Emma pulls away from the kiss and looks at Regina for reassurance that this was the direction they were going.

Regina nods and pulls Emma back in, feeling Emma unclasp her bra, gently leading one of the straps down her arm. They pull away from the kiss and Emma sheds the bra off, staring at Regina like a work of art.

"You're so beautiful." Emma says just above a whisper as she leans forward and starts peppering Regina's chest with kisses. Her hand finds a breast and she starts massaging it while her mouth finds the other. She flicks her tongue over the sensitive bud and feels it instantly harden in her mouth as she sucks and swirls her tongue around it.

Regina inhales sharply as the pleasure shoots through her body, her back arching, pushing her chest further into Emma. She can feel Emma gently push on her shoulder, laying her on her back as she climbs on top of her. Regina pulls Emma up and kisses her, feeling her semi-erect member pressing into her most sensitive spot.

She trails her hand down the front of Emma's body, her fingers tracing over the waistband of her boxers. She can hear a small groan escape Emma's lips as her hand dips into her boxers and her fingers come in contact with Emma's cock. She feels Emma hesitate as her body stiffens and Regina ends the kiss to look at her girlfriend.

"Are you okay?" Regina asks and Emma bites her lower lip.

It was the first time Regina had ever seen (well, felt) her penis and Emma was trying to get used to the feeling of a soft hand wrapped around her. Emma takes a few seconds before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She captures Regina's lips again as the brunette's hand starts to slowly stroke up and down her shaft, growing increasingly hard.

Regina knew that Emma was pretty well-endowed, but up until now, she never knew it was to the extent that she was feeling in her hand. Emma pushes her hips forward, moaning against Regina's lips at the pleasure that was running through her.

Emma's hand grabs a hold of Regina's wrist and carefully pulls her hand out of her boxers. She intertwines their fingers as her member presses against Regina's core through the thin layers of their clothing. Regina's hips buck, feeling her erection brush against her clit and she moans loudly, wanting way more than the somewhat dry humping they had going on.

She pushes Emma back, onto her knees as sits up and grabs a hold of Emma's boxers. She slowly starts to remove them from Emma's body, watching as her cock springs out of its confinement and stands at full attention in front of her. She stares at it momentarily, taking in all of its features and notes how well it compliments her girlfriend. Emma looks around the room nervously, but Regina leans up and gives her a reassuring kiss.

And to further put Emma's mind at ease, Regina takes this moment of awkward silence to remove her panties as she stares at Emma with lustful eyes. Emma breathes in sharply as her girlfriend lays back down on her bed completely naked. She was absolutely breathtaking and Emma is still sitting on her knees wondering how she got so lucky.

"Hold on." Emma says as she moves slightly to reach into her nightstand. She grabs a condom and returns to her spot on the bed. She opens the packaging and removes the latex barrier, rolling it down her shaft before she situates herself between Regina's legs.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Emma asks. And while she knows she probably doesn't need to given the circumstance, she feels that she has to. She doesn't want this to ruin anything.

"I am. Are you sure? I want you to be 100% okay with this, too." Regina says sweetly and Emma practically melts.

"I'm sure." She says with a little hesitation in her voice that Regina can sense.

"I love you, Emma. And I want to share that love with you."

And that was the answer Emma needed.

"I love you, too." Emma replies as she grabs her cock and positions it in front of Regina's dripping core. She runs the head through slick folds, before she lines it up with her entrance. She gently pushes it in and can hear a sharp inhale escape the lips of her girlfriend as she tries to adjust to the size of Emma's penis. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just give me a second." Regina gasps out. Emma nods and holds still until Regina nods and lets her know it's okay to continue. Emma inches in slowly, the feeling of Regina wrapped around her becoming her most favorite thing in the world. And compared to other condoms she had used in the past, these really felt different. Emma could almost swear that she could feel the velvety walls of Regina encircling her member. It was a sensation she'd never forget.

She leans forward and kisses Regina as she starts to draw back before sliding back in. Regina's back arches as Emma starts a slow and steady pace. She feels the ecstasy run through her veins every time Emma's cock was as deep as it could possibly be inside of her. Emma grabs a hold of Regina's hips to help her as she steadily thrusts in and out of her core.

And Regina found it endearing, that Emma was so focused on the way their bodies moved together, on making their first time as perfect as possible.

And Emma was honestly surprised she's lasted this long all together. Especially when she finds her perfect rhythm and her thrusts quicken while Regina's hips buck up allowing her to bury herself in her girlfriend.

"Oh fuck." Regina breathes out, hands gripping the sheets when Emma slightly shifts positions and her cock hits that one perfect spot and she knows she's about to peak. Emma's grunts and moans like music to her ears. "Babe, I'm- oh god."

Regina's head rolls back as her hands find Emma's back, nails digging into her skin as the first wave of her orgasm hits her. And Emma can tell by the way Regina's walls tighten around her member that she too is about to cum. Emma pumps her cock in and out of Regina a few more times before she thrusts in as deep as she can, her load shooting into the condom. Emma release a low, guttural moan as she practically collapses on top of Regina.

"Holy shit, I love you." Emma rasps out, completely out of breath. She removes herself from Regina and disposes of the condom before laying next to her girlfriend whose chest was heaving as she comes down from her high.

"I love you, too." Regina tries to catch her breath. She turns over and kisses the tip of Emma's nose. "Also, you definitely do not suck in bed. I don't know what you were so worried about."

* * *

The second time Emma wakes up, she feels a hell of a lot better. And she knows it has everything to do with what had happened a couple of hours earlier. She never actually thought that sex would make her feel so confident and so complete, but sex with Regina definitely did.

And she instantly misses her girlfriend who had gotten up an hour ago to go to work. She grabs her phone from the nightstand and checks it as she gets up and walks over to her dresser.

 _ **Regina:**_ _I'm 15 minutes into work and I already want to be off._

She shoots Regina a quick reply as she gets ready.

 **Emma:** I'm sorry, babe. What time are you off?

 _ **Regina:**_ _I'll be off at 5 if my last showing goes quickly._

 **Emma:** Well, for your sake, I hope it does.

Emma shoves her phone in her pocket as she exits her bedroom and makes her way to the kitchen. Ruby was sitting at the kitchen table, disheveled hair and looking like she just woke up.

"Why are you up so early?" Emma asks, fixing herself a cup of coffee and sits down.

"Couldn't sleep." Ruby yawns before smirking at the blonde. "I woke up at like 5 because I kept hearing things."

"I'm sorry, dude." Emma replies absentmindedly, taking a sip from her cup.

"You should be." Ruby jokes. "5am is way too early for me to be hearing you banging your girlfriend. Unlike you, she's not exactly quiet. Very vocal actually."

Emma chokes on her coffee, coughing as she tries to catch her breath. She had no idea that Ruby actually heard them, then again, the rest of the whole seemed non-existent that entire time.

"Oh my God, I am SO sorry." Emma apologizes.

"I mean, I'm glad you guys finally figured out that you love each other. Just wasn't the first thing I would have expected to hear in the morning. She sounded pretty mad last night when she found you drunk." Ruby shrugs.

Emma nods understandingly. "Yeah, I know. I talked to her about it and apologized for my behavior. Also, I'm sorry that I called you and worried you."

"I love you, dude. You're my best friend. I just hate seeing you do that to yourself, you know?" Ruby raises an eyebrow.

"I know."

"Good. Don't forget it." Ruby winks as she gets up from the table. "Oh, and we have a shoot in San Diego today. So sorry, you're going to have to go back even though you were literally there yesterday."

"Ugh, really? What time?" Emma groans.

"Noon. It should be done by 2 so we can be back here by 4:30, maybe 5." Ruby shrugs.

"Alright." Emma agrees, glancing at the clock. "Leave in like an hour?"

"Sounds good to me. I'm going to go get ready." Ruby nods towards her room. "And Emma? I'm glad you finally got laid."

"Gee, thanks." Emma huffs out while Ruby chuckles.

 **Emma:** I think we scarred Ruby for life...

 _ **Regina:**_ _Oh?_

 **Emma:** yeah, she definitely heard us this morning. Well, you, more specifically.

 _ **Regina:**_ _OH. OH GOD. SHE HEARD THAT?_

 **Emma:** Yeah… In all honesty, I had no idea we were being that loud… You know, kind of too wrapped up in the moment.

 _ **Regina:**_ _I'm embarrassed_

 **Emma:** Don't be, babe. Now Ruby and I are even. Don't forget I practically walked in on her.

 _ **Regina:**_ _with a random stranger. Emma, she knows me. We all hang out. It'll be so awkward now! :(_

 **Emma:** No, it won't! She mentioned it and then brushed it off. It'll be fine.

 _ **Regina:**_ _I'm still embarrassed._

"You ready, Ems?" Ruby calls out, watching Emma look oddly at her phone.

"Yeah. Let's go." Emma gets up from the table and the two head out of the condo. "You're not going to think any differently of Regina after you heard us... you know?"

"Why would I?" Ruby asks as they get in the car.

"She's embarrassed and thinks it'll be awkward, now." Emma explains.

Ruby turns the engine over and pulls out of the parking lot. "Nah, dude. Sex is natural. Besides, I heard you and Ariel, and that girl is way louder than Regina. It sounded like a full blown porno in there."

"Great." Emma rolls her eyes. "That's still a memory I'd like to pretend never happened."

"Why?" Ruby questions.

"I don't know. We're past that, you know? I just want to focus on the here and now." Emma admits.

"Wait, have you not told Regina?"

"What? No, she knows." Emma shakes her head. "I'd never hide that from her."

"Then why...?" Ruby trails off, but Emma knows what she's asking.

"I guess it reminds me of a person I don't want to be anymore. The person who made a guest appearance last night." Emma says honestly. "I know that I've messed up a lot since my first AA meeting, but after meeting Regina, I was fine. I remember the first night I met her. That was the last time I ever drank heavily until yesterday. I mean, I had a drink when we went on our second date, and a beer at the Rabbit Hole, but that was two drinks in two months. And when I fucked it all up yesterday, I was reminded how much of a drinking problem I had. When Ariel and I slept together, we were drunk. And while I don't really regret sleeping with her, I'm trying not to be that Emma anymore. I want to be better, to do better."

"Oh, so it's because you were drunk that's the reason you wish it never happened?"

"I guess." Emma shrugs. "I mean, as much as I love Ariel as a friend, I don't think it would have ever happened if I didn't have a drinking problem."

"Makes sense." Ruby says understandingly. "And just for your sake, Emma, I will stop mentioning it. Okay? I love you, dude, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you. And if me mentioning it makes you feel like crap because you're really trying to get past your drinking problem, then I will stop."

"Thanks, Rubes. You're the best." Emma smiles.

"I mean, I try." Ruby says jokingly as her phone vibrates. "Hey, can you check that? It's probably a text message from Belle."

"Yeah." Emma grabs Ruby's phone and reads the text aloud. "She wants to know when we're going to be back."

"Mm. Tell her like 6? Is that cool? I figured we could grab food before we go home." Ruby suggests.

"Fine by me. As long as we're home before 6:30" Emma replies as she types out the text to Belle. "Actually, there is one stop I'd like to make while we're there. Is that cool? Shouldn't take more than like ten minutes."

"Sure!"

"Great." Emma smiles, pulling out her own phone and dialing a number. She waits a little bit until the line goes to voicemail. "Hey, it's Emma. Listen, I'm coming back to San Diego today and I really need to talk to you... So, yeah. I hope you're around when I get there."

* * *

By lunchtime, Regina was definitely over work. She had two clients that cancelled last minute for a showing and then got a huge wave of calls simultaneously asking about multiple houses on their listing. Needless to say, it had been a long 5 hours. On top of that, Emma had just started a shoot at noon and Regina knew she couldn't talk to her girlfriend during her lunch like she's used to.

Instead, Regina decides to head home for her lunch for once. She parks her car in the garage and enters the house, hearing the TV from the living as soon as she walks in.

"Hey, Kat!" She calls out and she swears that Kathryn squeals excitedly before the sound of running echoes through the halls.

They meet in the kitchen and Kathryn throws her arms around Regina. "Oh my god! It feels like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Need to breathe." Regina coughs out as Kathryn hugs her tightly.

Kathryn backs away and lets go, smiling widely at her roommate. "You look absolutely radiant today! How was dinner last night?"

"A nightmare." Regina groans, grabbing a salad from the fridge.

"Oh?" Kathryn questions as they sit at the kitchen table together. "Why? Was Cora being crazy towards Emma?"

"Even worse... Lily showed up. And she told my mother Emma's secret and I found out that Emma has a drinking problem. I had to practically carry a drunken girlfriend out of Z's house and drive her home."

"Yikes." Kathryn bears her teeth. "How is Emma?"

"She's fine now. We talked about it this morning." Regina replies, taking a bite of her salad.

"Well, that's good." Kathryn smiles as she scrutinizes the way Regina looked. "I've just got to say, there's something different about you. Something... happy."

"Emma told me she loved me."

"What!?" Kathryn exclaims. "And what did you say back?"

"I told her I loved her, too. Because I do. Even with knowing she has an alcohol abuse issue, I- she's just Emma. What's not to love about her?" Regina admits honestly. "I think I've known since we became official. There's just something about her that makes me feel so whole."

"Aww. That's soooo sweet!" Kathryn squeals before gasping. "Did you guys...?"

"I don't like talking about my sex life. You know that. I feel awkward."

"Well you just answered my question." Kathryn smirks. "Soooo. How was it?"

"It was-" Regina pauses, her cheeks growing red. "Okay, it fucking amazing. She was being super careful and gentle and loving. She took her time and made it perfect."

"Can I finally ask you how big it is?" Kathryn asks.

"I don't think my best friend needs to know the size of my girlfriend's penis." Regina rolls her eyes.

"Oh come on! I'm just curious, is all, since she produces more estrogen than testosterone and that could make a difference. If you don't tell me, then I'll just ask Ruby." Kathryn says pulling out her phone.

"Okay, okay!" Regina stops her. "It's pretty big."

"Everyone has different definitions of big. Like how big we talking? 8 inches? What?" Kathryn presses.

"It's not like I whipped out a tape measure in the middle of sex to see just **HOW** big it was. But I can tell you it's definitely above average." Regina replies.

"Damn." Kathryn whistles. "Sounds like you lucked out."

"I lucked out with all things Emma." Regina smiles before her face falls. "Well, except for that drinking problem."

"Yeah, but you said you guys talked about it, right?"

"We did. And she said she really thought it had gotten better. She mentioned going back to her therapist to make sure she gets the help she needs." Regina explains.

"Well, that's good. It means she understands how it affects her life and the people around her, and can own up to her mistakes. It sounds like she really wants to change and be a better person, and not let it destroy her." Kathryn smiles, looking at Regina who seemed to be in deep thought. "I know you're worried about her, but I really think she's going to try her hardest to become sober."

"I know." Regina sighs. "I just- seeing her like that last night scared me, you know? Like what if she had just wandered off and ended up in a ditch? Or what if she tried to drive? It was terrifying to think about all the things that could've happened to her because she was wasted."

"Then don't think about it." Kathryn pats Regina on the back. "She's getting help and I think seeing Lily just broke her down to the only coping mechanism she knew. And she's probably not used to having you in that aspect, you know? To talk to? Just keep being there for her and I bet that'll help her realize she has more than one outlet."

"You're right. I need to trust that she'll be okay." Regina agrees, the sound of her phone ringing through the house. She holds up a finger to tell Kathryn to wait a minute, thinking it's Mary-Margaret calling her back to the office. "Hello?"

 _'Hey, babe.'_

"Emma? Hey, I thought you had a shoot at noon?"

 _'Yeah, they pushed it back to 2, so we have some time to kill. So, I figured I'd call you and see if you wanted to do dinner later this evening?'_

"I'd love that." Regina smiles and out of the corner of her eye, she can see Kathryn making kissy faces at her. Regina shoots a glare towards Kathryn before returning her attention to Emma. "What time?"

 _'Let's say 7 at Bestia?'_

"Bestia!?" Regina exclaims. "Emma, that place is impossible to get into."

 _'I may have made reservations while I was on tour because I wanted to make up being gone for two weeks, and the earliest they had was a month in advance. So what do you say?'_

Regina's heart melts at Emma's comment. "I say that's perfect."

 _'Great. Well, hey. I got to get going. Ruby wants to go to lunch now while we wait for the studio to be set up. I just wanted to hear your voice.'_

"You're the sweetest, but okay. Have a fun time. Tell Ruby I say hi." Regina smiles and she watches as Kathryn points to herself and waves. "And that Kathryn says hi... to both of you, I think."

 _'Well, tell her we said hey back. Have a good rest of your day, babe. I'll see you when we're done here.'_

"Okay. You, too, Emma." Regina replies. "I love you."

 _'I love you, too. Bye!'_

"Bye." Regina hangs up the phone and looks at Kathryn who is staring at her with a smirk. "What?"

"You guys are too cute."

* * *

Emma inhales sharply as soon as Regina's off the phone. She looks at the house in front of her and holds her breath, working up the courage to get out of the care and go up to the front door. She closes her eyes and lets out a deep sigh, opening the car door and getting out. The door slams behind her as she carefully walks up the steps and stands on the front porch. She can feel the nervousness settle in her stomach as she stares at door. She wants to turn around and run away, but she knows she has to do this.

Her hand balls into a fist and hovers over the wood, and she's contemplating whether or not this was a good idea. She knocks on the door and waits patiently for it to open. A couple of minutes pass by and Emma's certain that no one's coming to the door, so she starts to turn away when the sound of the deadbolt unlocking pulls her back into reality.

Her attention is refocused back to the front door and person standing in the doorway. Emma looks at them with nervous eyes and a half smile.

"Hey... we need to talk."

* * *

 **Wait, cliffhanger? What?  
You guys should know me, by now.  
Also, who is Emma needing to talk to?**

 **Guess you'll have to wait until next time!**

 **Also, that was my first time writing like smut, so I hope it was worth the wait.**


End file.
